Ya Tashra
by Aria6
Summary: What happens when an immortal wizard is having hormonal issues, and his vampire sister decides to do something about it... by finding him companions from a shadow world where Riku and Sora lost to Ansem? Now with Axel/Roxas lemon! :
1. Chapter 1

The girl drummed her fingers against the leather of the arm of her sofa, thinking furiously. She was a very beautiful girl, petite with pale skin and dark purple hair in an amusingly whimsical cut. Her eyes were a lovely jade, with heavy eyeliner to bring out the color. Her current clothing was a pure white gown that revealed a nice amount of cleavage and puddled over her legs in a pool of frilly lace.

Right now she was thinking about her brother. It was remarkable, really. They had both achieved immortality… although through completely different means. She owed him a great deal though. She doubted she would have survived this long if he hadn't been catering to her needs for centuries. She touched the white bone medallion at her throat, and looked at the matching ones on her wrists. She was a vampire, but those lovely medallions let her take sustenance from ley lines. Pure magic was her drug now, and that kind of magic was everywhere. And with magic, she could walk in daylight and felt no urge to hunt. Immortality with all the benefits and none of the drawbacks. It was truly glorious.

And she owed it all to her brother, Ya Tashra. It was almost a shame that he'd taken such a different path to immortality, because he was definitely experiencing drawbacks. But then, if he'd done it her way he'd never have been able to master the magic required to make her immortality so painless. She really owed him something. He'd been so good to her. But what could she do to lesson his pain that wouldn't make him want to kill her?

Although right now he wanted to kill everything. She smirked as she thought about it, but only for a moment. Ya Tashra was irritated. Insufferable. Absolutely unbearable to be around… and he knew it, which was the only saving grace. He was drinking heavily to help cope, but his apprentices were having a very rough time. Fortunately, his senior apprentices were able to take care of most teaching. Unfortunately, this had just started… and it was going to be going on for a year if nothing was done.

"Something needs to be done." She idly tapped one of her fangs, thinking. But what? She knew what Ya Tashra needed, and he knew what he needed… but he was refusing to get it. She knew why, but it made her want to bean him. How could a brother of hers be so ridiculously repressed? "Hrmp!" She licked her fangs, then sighed. "I suppose maybe I'll just have to take the chance of him killing me." He probably wouldn't, and even if he did, he'd regret it and bring her back to live in a year or two. Vampires were quite hard to kill permanently.

Picking up a scrying crystal, she began putting her own magic to use, searching the multiverse for exactly what she needed. Part of her power was innate but a very large portion of it was borrowed from her brother. Which was fine. She could use his power to take anything she wanted, and leave enough money to cover the purchase. It was a fine way of shopping when she didn't really want to leave the tower… or when she wanted to shop outside the Twisted World without the fuss. It would be perfect for what she was doing now. If Ya Tashra caught wind of it before it was a done deal, he'd pull her fangs out.

She started with the slave pens on the Twisted World. It was a vile business, slavery, but all too many worlds that the Twisted World connected to allowed it. Ya Tashra wasn't a bad man at all, but the only rules he enforced in the Twisted World involved damage to the world itself. So if the people living there wanted slavery… that was how it was. And a slave, or rather slaves, would do nicely for her plans. If she could only find the right ones.

That was very hard going. She blew a bit of hair out of her face, frustrated. She needed something so particular! Maybe… maybe it was time for oracular divination. She cast the spell, and was surprised when a scene immediately popped up in her glass.

"…?" Peering in the glass, she blinked as she saw a malnourished, spiky haired little boy being forced to ride a dark skinned, pale haired man. The boy was crying but his body was enjoying it, from the condition of his penis. And in the corner of the room, there were two other children. An auburn haired girl and a silver haired boy, very young but old enough for the use the dark skinned man was putting them to. They were both stark naked and she could see cruel marks on their skins. Leaning back on her couch, she settled in to watch the entertainment, a hand straying between her own thighs. She was a vampire, after all. She had no shame… and the way the boy was squirming and begging all kinds of things was just so beautiful. It made her wish he was in her room right now. She quickly fingered herself, hoping to reach orgasm before the man finished with the boy. She just barely managed it, groaning in pleasure as the boy wept and released his seed across the man's stomach. He had lovely blue eyes, she noticed… even lovelier when they were hazed with held back tears. He would be perfect. Licking her lips, she turned her attention to the silver haired boy. He was certainly good looking enough, although she hadn't seen him in action. The girl she didn't care about. She could include her, but only to keep the two boys in line.

There was no need to be hasty though. She could watch them for some time, make sure they were right for what she wanted.

* * *

A week later.

The beautiful vampire licked her lips. She'd been watching the man and his toys for the entire week and had learned quite a bit about them. The man, as it turned out, was Ansem… and the boys were Sora and Riku. The girl was named Kairi. Apparently, this was a shadow world where Sora and Riku had failed miserably to stop him and had been turned into his sexual pets. The same for Kairi. The entire place was falling apart into darkness, but she couldn't care less about that. She knew for a fact that Sora and Riku had won on many other worlds, so it was probably just a karmic thing. If they won in most places, there had to be at least one place they lost.

She had decided they were indeed perfect. She would steal Ansem's toys, and if he didn't like it, he could come to the tower and try to get them back. She grinned evilly at the thought. He thought he was so powerful, this Heartless. But he didn't understand the limits of his power, since he'd never tried to leave his shadow world. But lesser Heartless couldn't come to the Twisted World, and unless he had resources she couldn't see, his power would be vastly diminished by entering Ya Tashra's sphere. He would be cut off from the Kingdom Hearts in his universe, the things he was drawing power from. And even if that weren't the case, she'd seen her brother destroy an elder god single handedly. Destroying an uppity Heartless would probably be a pleasure to him right now. Setting her crystal down on the table, she rose to her feet in a swirl of silk. Her current dress was a purple that matched her hair, beaded with seed pearls on the bodice. It made her look like an innocent child, which was perfect for a first meeting.

Tapping her wrists together, she quickly got everything ready. She set the table with four places… she could eat now, thanks to her brother's magic… and called in the food, setting it on magical stones that would keep it warm and fresh. She licked her lips… it was her favorite meal, chicken fried steak with gravy, mashed potatoes and butter corn, with apple pie for dessert. Her brother thought it was dreadfully prosaic for a vampire to prefer home cooking, but she'd never though that was a good enough reason to change her tastes. Given the wretched stuff Ansem had been feeding the children, they'd no doubt appreciate this. She'd thought about getting them new clothes as well… the grey uniforms they were wearing were terribly drab and not very durable besides… but decided to leave that to her brother. Having them looking pathetic and in need wouldn't hurt for the first meeting. She needed to ignite some of his protective instincts, or he'd kick them all to the curb so fast their heads would be spinning. And that just wouldn't do at all.

Picking up her crystal, she waited until the perfect moment… when all three of the little sex toys were wandering around, none of them in Ansem's presence. Smirking, she breathed out the spell, unleashing the magic.

Instantly, three children were dumped to the ground in front of her. Smiling prettily, she watched as the girl and the brunette boy lay dazed. The silver hair was in the best shape… he flipped himself onto his back and looked at her, his aquamarine eyes wide.

"Who… what…?" Riku was stunned by the abrupt change in his surroundings. One moment he'd been in Ansem's castle, a nightmare of steel and Heartless… and suddenly, he was in a room that was full of feminine warmth. The thick, plush carpet he was lying on was nearly as comfortable as the bed Ansem had given him, and it was done in shades of gold, green and purple. Lamps of gold filigree illuminated the room, showing creamy walls and elegant paintings. Sora and Kairi both pushed themselves up, and gaped as a beautiful woman stepped in front of them. She had lovely purple hair and huge, jade green eyes… and the palest skin they had ever seen. It was almost white.

"Hello there, sweeties. I'm Ya Seshti, and I have a proposition for you." She smiled ravishingly, tiny fangs peeking from under her lip. "But before we go into that, I do believe you must be hungry. Please, will you join me for supper?" She gestured to the table, and three sets of eyes followed her gesture. Sora's stomach growled, not to her surprise… he was the one eating the least of the three, and it showed in his body.

"Wait, what is going on here?" Riku was trying to pull himself together. Was this all some kind of trick of Ansem's, to see how his slaves would react? That would be so like him. But the woman smiled at them again.

"I've stolen you, kitten. Ansem's going to have quite the fit I expect, but he can just bark for it… if we come to an agreement, at least." She lowered her eyelashes for a moment, then shrugged prettily. "But we can talk while we eat. Don't want the food to get cold… it's my favorite, and better than the slop that creature was feeding you." Sora swallowed, but moved over to the table. The food was strange… he'd never seen anything quite like it before… but it smelled so good. Kairi hesitated but followed, and finally Riku took a spot at the table as well. "Excellent!" She took a seat across from Sora, with Riku on her right and Kairi on her left, and smiled as she poured them some wine. "Please, call me Seshti." She frowned faintly as she saw they weren't taking the food, just waiting uneasily, then shrugged and quickly served them herself. Probably Ansem liked to dole out what his slaves ate. She hadn't watched the mealtimes but it seemed typical of the man.

For a time, they ate in silence. As soon as he was sure it wasn't a dream and that the food wasn't going to be taken away, Sora ate like he hadn't seen food in weeks. Riku and Kairi weren't quite as ravenous, but they did a good job of finishing their plates. Grinning, Seshti called cut up the pie and served it to them, giving each slice a big dollop of ice cream and a drizzle of caramel. From their expressions, they all thought they had died and gone to heaven. Seshti rather agreed, as she ate her own piece of pie. The crust was perfectly flaky, the apples done to just the right texture with the perfect amount of lemon and spices. It didn't get much better than this.

Sitting back with a sigh, Seshti smiled benevolently at her unwilling audience. Sipping her wine, she began to speak. "You wanted to know why I've brought you here?" Riku nodded shortly, watching her carefully. He didn't trust her an inch, but that was too be expected really. "Well, you see, I'm having quite a problem. It's my brother. He's got a horrible case of the ten year itch."

"Say what?" Sora said, confused… then suddenly hunched his shoulders. "M-Mistress." She stuck her tongue out at him, and Sora blinked.

"Please! Call me Sesthi, Sora. I'm not Ansem and neither is my brother." Sora flinched, then smiled shyly. He desperately wanted to believe that… believe that his torture was over… but he didn't quite dare. "You see, my brother and I are immortals. I'm a vampire, but thanks to his lovely magic I exist on pure magic these days. Which means I can go out in daylight and eat anything I please." She gestured at the table with a content expression, then grimaced. "But my lovely brother took a completely different turn on his track to immortality. It's hard to explain, but he's tied himself directly to the force of entrophy. But what that means for his body is that he's immortal… but he still, ahem, cycles." They all looked confused, and she licked her fangs, trying to think how to explain. "Every ten years or so, he goes into a heat stage. He needs sex, and a whole lot of it. But he's such a stubborn, insufferable bastard that he usually just denies his needs and rides it out with drugs, alcohol and being a complete douche to the rest of us." She sighed, rolling her eyes and ignored the looks the children were exchanging. They clearly didn't like where this was going. "This time he's having a really bad one and I swear, he is completely insupportable. I'm tempted to throw him off the edge of the world and put us out of our collective misery. Alas, that wouldn't kill him anyway so I'm onto plan B… get him some sex, pronto."

"You want us to be his sex toys. Just like we've been doing for Ansem." Riku said, his voice tired. Sora and Kairi both looked down, and Kairi quickly drank her wine. Seshti shook her head with a smile.

"Not exactly. Brother dearest isn't going to want you. He has some problems with sex. You'll have to… seduce him a little." Seshti grinned at the shock in Sora's face as he glanced up. "And it'll be just you and Sora darling who get to do that. Sorry, Kairi, but my brother is completely gay. He takes a female form sometimes, but even then he loves the cock." Kairi blinked at that. "I only included you for completeness, so these two wouldn't be all worried about you." She shrugged, draining her wine and pouring herself another glass. "To be honest, I'm not sure this idea of mine will work. And there's a good chance he'll kill me. If he does, though, don't worry about it… I'm a vampire. He can always put me back together when he cools down. But I think the story of what's happened to you, and how much you need to be safe, will tug on his heartstrings a bit. Maybe enough to get him to put his infernal guard down. So, what do you say?" They didn't have to think about it long. The only choice other than this crazy offer was going back to Ansem… and that was no choice at all.

"We'll try." Riku said, and Sora nodded. They would do anything to stay away from Ansem… anything at all.


	2. My Rifle is Hot

Author's Note: This is basically a sequel to Twisted World. But for anyone who hasn't read it, a shadow world is actually an alternate universe… a place where things went differently. The Twisted World is a spiral world the size of a large city created by Ya Tashra. Enjoy and please review!

Riku, Sora and Seshti peered around a doorframe. If anyone had spotted them, the three heads in a row would have been amusing.

Fortunately, the wizard in the room hadn't spotted them. Riku and Sora both looked at him intently. His coloring was distressingly like Ansem… dark skin, white-grey hair and yellow eyes. But fortunately, the hairstyle was utterly different. The hair was done in a thousand tiny micro braids, tied into a knot behind his head and sliding down his back. And the face was different… more delicate, gentler than Ansem's. Right now, he was wearing very un-wizardlike clothing… a white t-shirt with a cracked smiley face on it and blue jeans.

He was also well on his way to dead drunk. As they watched, he drank a huge glass of absinthe in a long series of swallows. It was sort of nauseating, but Seshti knew it took immense amounts of high proof alcohol to affect her brother in any way.

"Oh dear." She sighed. "It's mid-morning. How does he think he's going to survive this? Well. He is almost unkillable. But if he were mortal his liver would be going tits up right now." She tapped her fingers on the doorframe thoughtfully. "But maybe he'll be a happy drunk today. Let me go test the waters, you stay here. And stay out of sight until I call for you." She leapt into the room, landing on the desk in front of Ya Tashra. "Hi brother! I have-" There was a sudden whooshing sound, and Sora and Riku both stepped back as she was blasted out of the room in a tumbling rush of limbs and white lace. She started to sit up with a pout, when a book was thrown out of the room with startling accuracy, hitting her neatly on the face. She hit the ground as the door slammed shut and Sora rushed over, pulling the book off her. Seshti sat up, rubbing herself and making a face. "Okay. NOT a happy drunk. We'll have to check back later."

"Does he always do this?" Sora was more than a little apprehensive. Ansem had been abusive, but he wasn't sure this was looking better. Seshti shook her head.

"No, I'm a vampire, he knows I can take it. And I'm super annoying." Riku nodded… that, he could believe. "He wouldn't hit one of his apprentices like that. And normally he's not drunk… it's the itch thing, it's driving him nuts. Gads, it's so hard to catch him sober right now." She pouted, standing up and straightening her dress, then arranging her hair. "Well, since my brother is being a complete douchenozzle, let's go collect Kairi and I'll show you all around." She suddenly grinned. "You're going to love the tower! And the Twisted World is even better." With a burst of magic she brought them all back to her room, where Kairi was reading a book. She looked up with a blink as Seshti grabbed her wrist. "C'mon! Going to show you around." She dragged Kairi out as Sora and Riku followed behind. Seshti's energy was simply impossible to resist.

"Now, this is the elevators." Seshti said happily as she brought them to a row of doors. "You use them to go up and down. Hmm, what should we start with… ah, let's start with the top and work our way down!" She pressed for the top level of the tower… 13… and the elevator rose so smoothly that there was almost no sensation of movement. "The uppermost level is so awesome, it's an observation deck. Because of that it's smaller than the rest of the tower. Most of the tower is bigger inside than it is outside… don't ask me how that works… but not level 13." They saw what they meant when they stepped out of the elevator onto the observation deck. It was fairly big but hardly immense, with plenty of distance viewers on the edge so anyone standing on it could look down easily on the Twisted World.

Sora gasped, gripping Seshti's arm so hard his grip was almost painful, even for the vampire. She gave him a questioning look, then followed his gaze. "Oh! You get used to that. You can only see it from the tower or the uppermost layer of the Twisted World anyway." What he was looking at was the fields of crackling, fluctuating force above them. Colors rippled through them, but predominantly they were dark orange and gold. Riku and Kairi both looked up and stood paralyzed, trapped somewhere between fascination and nausea. The fields illuminated the top of the tower in an unearthly glow, and Seshti grinned, her fangs reflecting the light. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"I feel sick." Sora muttered and lowered his eyes. Seshti sighed and patted him on the head, and he blushed, letting go of her arm.

"Don't worry about it sweety. C'mere, take a look at the viewers. You can see marvelous stuff from up here." Ya Tashra's tower was separate from the rest of the Twisted World, so only people who had genuine business with him could bother him. Seshti skipped over to one of the viewers, and peered through with a grin. "Oh, look! Marco's is having taco night. I'll have to stop by later and grab my share." Confused, the two of stepped up… and gaped at what lay below them.

The tower was offset from the Twisted World, and slowly moving around it, giving a beautiful view of its twisted glory. The Twisted World was a spiral of rock, each layer set with red lights to illuminate the one below. Thousands of shops, homes and bazaars were teeming with life. Courtyards full of portals let people come and go, and areas of twisted geometry let them jump from one level to another with ease. Air cars made their careful way between the layers, the most daring actually leaving the world to loop around the layers. But most didn't dare… that was truly dangerous. Utterly fascinated, Riku cautiously looked through a distance viewer. Fiddling with the knobs, he found that he was able to observe the crowds. Kairi and Sora did the same… until Kairi suddenly burst into tears. "…?" Seshti looked up, surprised, as the two boys tried to comfort her. "What's wrong honey?"

"It's just… I'm sorry…" Kairi sobbed. "In our w-world all the worlds… are gone… all the people were… Heartless… except us. And this is… so alive! All the people living their lives and… and… everyone we knew is dead…" Sora swallowed and hugged her tightly, a few tears sliding down his face as he thought about what she had said. Riku swallowed, closing his eyes in pain for a moment. Seshti hesitated, then whispered soft nothings, gently charming them with her vampire nature… but imparting nothing but calm. Soon, Kairi's tears lessened and turned into a few hiccups.

"I'm very sorry, Kairi." Seshti said gently as they calmed. "I know this might not be a comfort… not at all… but I believe your world was a karmic balance." They looked at her, confused, and she explained. "There are dozens of worlds I know of where you faced Ansem… and won. Different versions of you, slightly different histories, but they all won… but for every light, there needs to be a darkness. For all the victories… a failure. I'm sorry that you had to be that failure, but it was… fate."

"That doesn't help." Riku said, his voice low and bitter. Seshti shrugged.

"Maybe not, but it is what it is. If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else. Come… let me show you the rest of the tower. Maybe you'll like the garden better." She led them briskly back to the elevator, and took them down to the next level. "This is the garden. It's where people go to meditate, outdoor bathing and just being one with nature." They all blinked as the elevator door opened… and let them out into a garden.

"What…?" Riku slowly turned around. The ceiling stretched up impossibly high, and looked like a replica of the sky. It was possible to see that it wasn't, though. And the garden around them seemed to stretch off forever. Trees had been clipped and trimmed into fantastic shapes, and there was plush grass and flowers everywhere. Little trails led through the greenery, and there were plenty of benches to sit and think. It all looked beautiful and artificial… and Riku was glad. If it had looked less like a garden and more like a forest, it might have reminded them of the Destiny Islands. And that would have been too painful to bear.

"The tower is bigger inside than out." Seshti explained, leading them down one of the paths. "Don't ask me how it works, I have no idea. Now, this is the path you take to reach the hot springs. It's the best thing EVER and I could kiss my brother for putting it in." The garden changed a little, getting a bit more wild and jungle like as they reached the springs. Glorious, dripping red blooms surrounded the grottos and nooks "Want to take a bath? The hot springs feel soooo good." They had all taken quick showers in the morning, but this was better. There were a few apprentices in nearby pools, relaxing, but they paid no attention as Seshti quickly stripped and dumped her clothes on a nearby nook. Sora swallowed hard, eyes wide as he looked at the extravagantly female form revealed… until she slid into the water with a sigh. Then she blinked at them. "What are you waiting for? The water is great, don't be shy." Riku shrugged and began to strip, followed more hesitantly by Sora and Kairi. But they quickly got used to it. Ansem didn't like his pets bathing together, but that was only because they were supposed to devote themselves entirely to him.

"This is wonderful." Kairi sighed as she enjoyed the hot spring. Heartless didn't need to bathe and Ansem hadn't cared at all about their comforts, so his castle had only had cold water. It was the first time they had had a hot bath in so long. Seshti grinned, her fangs glinting as she waved a hand. A plate of fresh fruit appeared, and she picked up a slice of passion fruit, biting into it with gusto.

"Isn't it? Want some fruit?" Kairi smiled and took a slice of pineapple. Sora grabbed a few strawberries and Riku took a slice of the passion fruit. The plate floated over to one of the apprentices then, who took a slice of mango before she sent it on. "I really love living here. My brother knows how to make creature comforts, that's for sure. The only thing that's missing are actual people servants." She chewed thoughtfully on her fruit for a moment. "Everything's done by magic and technology. Which is pretty awesome, but for a lot of things you have to go to the Twisted World… like manicures." She examined her sharp nails for a moment, then grinned. "Not that that's a huge hindrance! Portal level is 10, you can go anywhere from there. Not just the Twisted World, but all of my sweet brother's favorite places."

"We're glad to be here so far." Riku said, a touch warily. "But… we don't want to be treated like Ansem treated us. And frankly, we're at your mercy." He had no doubt at all that they couldn't escape the pretty little vampire. She had pulled them right out of Ansem's castle, after all. Seshti shrugged.

"Oh, well, that's not likely to happen. Brother is a sweetheart really, when he's not having his issues. As for me…" She lowered her eyelashes and smiled slowly, sensuously. "I'm a vampire, sweetie. I'm so kinky you could use me for an accordion. But I kink all kinds of ways. Would you like to be MY master?" She moaned and arched, lifting her breasts out of the water. "I'm a bad little girl. Punish me!"

"Eeep!" She opened her eyes and grinned as Sora threatened to nosebleed. Kairi was staring, transfixed, and Riku had a hand over his eyes.

"I'm really sorry I mentioned it." Riku lowered his hand with a sigh. "Okay, I understand, you're not like Ansem. Still, this is all a bit hard to trust."

"Well, sweetie, you really shouldn't." She waved the plate over and took a piece of pineapple as Riku frowned. "If you can't do your part in my plan, I'll have to get rid of you… send you back to Ansem, maybe." The three children exchanged horrified glances as Seshti smirked. "Or just throw you into the Twisted World. You'd probably end up slaves, but that's how it goes. What? I didn't promise you'd be able to stay." She licked her lips thoughtfully, enjoying the fear she could sense from all three of them. It was… delicious. For a moment, she thought about taking off her bone amulets and feeding like a vampire should. But no… that was too dangerous. No matter how pleasant it would be.

"I thought you said you weren't like Ansem." Riku said, his voice hard, and Seshti shrugged.

"I'm not. But I'm a vampire, remember? Until my brother became powerful and made me these, I ate people. A lot of people. I ate Heartless and Nobodies too… they have such a… unique taste." Seshti licked her lips thoughtfully, then grinned. "I'm a bit Heartless too, when you get right down to it. You should see me when I go all out! But hopefully you never will, that gets messy." Riku frowned, rubbing his forehead a moment… talking to the vampire threatened to give him a headache.

"Alright. I don't like it, but I suppose it's fair." It wasn't like anyone here actually owed them anything. "I want to know what the rules are here. Ansem had plenty of rules, and punishments if we broke them." Sora shivered faintly as he remembered that. Kairi looked away.

"I saw some of those. He didn't let you touch each other, did he?" Seshti commented, and Riku nodded. "Well, you can do each other all day for all I care. As long as you get my insufferable brother into bed. For the rest of it… bleuh!" She stuck her tongue out, making them blink. "All those petty master/slave games. No thanks! Consider every rule he gave you null and void. Here are the ground rules of the tower." Seshti thought for a moment, tilting her head back. "Don't go on levels 9,8 or 7 unless you're invited. I'll show you one of them, but that's where the apprentices work so they mostly won't want you around. You can go on 6 but it's really boring, that's the junior apprentice level. Don't play with the portals on level 10 until you know where you go, or you might end up in my favorite whorehouse." All three of them blushed, and Seshti grinned before continuing. "Don't go to level 1 without an escort. That'll just kill you… That's the gate to outside, and the celestial winds would tear you to bits in no time. Not even my brother could put you back together if that happened. Got it?"

"Don't go to 10,9,8,7 or 1. Got it." Riku repeated, and Seshti nodded.

"You'll be able to go to 10 eventually, when you've got the hang of it. But anyway… I'm starting to prune up. Feel about done?" Sora and Kairi both nodded. They were feeling good, very good, but the water was starting to feel a bit too hot. "Okay! Lets get this show on the road." She jumped out of the hot tub, and a big fluffy towel floated over. The same happened for the three children, and they all dried themselves off before putting back on their clothes. It was still the grey uniforms Ansem had given them, although they had been cleaned. They made their way back to the elevator, and Seshti pushed the button for the eleventh floor. "Next level is the jungle gym." Riku was about to ask what that meant when the elevator door opened, and he shut his mouth with a click.

The floor was dedicated to the martial arts. Not only that, but exercise of all kinds. There were several large rooms for certain kinds of practice, and smaller, padded rooms with powerful wards for magical battles. There was an armory with every kind of weapon imaginable… including keyblades. Sora's eyes started to tear up as he remembered the Kingdom Key… and how it had vanished when he had lost, and Ansem had tied himself to Kingdom Hearts.

"HOY! A vampire!" A loud, resonant voice interrupted his reverie as they entered a large room… and a gun pointed directly at them. Seshti darted to one side then dodged as balls of light flashed out at her. She leapt into the air, curling around in an amazing dance as Sora and Riku gaped. Then she leapt directly at the shooter, and he held up his gun sideways to protect himself… she landed on it, knocking him back and onto the floor.

"Why do you always challenge me, Armand? Do you just like having your ass kicked?" She said conversationally to the man under her. He grinned up at her. He was a very handsome man, they noticed, with blond hair and devil may care blue eyes.

"My long, hard rifle yearns for your end, vampire queen." He said with a wicked grin, and Seshti paused thoughtfully, licking her fangs.

"Does it? Tell me… is the barrel hot?" She cooed, and his grin widened.

"Hot as the hell I will bring you too, vampire." Sora and Kairi exchanged a glance… the tone didn't quite match the words. Riku, meanwhile, had a bit more experience with porn… and was sure it wasn't rifles they were talking about.

"Mmm. And how many rounds are in the barrel, oh great vampire hunter?" Seshti ran her finger across the metal of the rifle, licking her lips. His grin widened.

"More than enough to vanquish you, vile beast." She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then grinned and turned her head to look at the three children behind her.

"You guys get lost. Go look at the weapons. Armand and I have some business to discuss." The three of them hastily left the room, but not before hearing… "Now, show me this rifle of yours."

"Kinkier than an accordion," Riku muttered to himself. He thought that was a very good description of Seshti. He was surprised, though, when he heard Kairi giggle. "…?" He glanced over at the auburn haired girl, who shrugged, a little embarrassed.

"Sorry. It's just… that was kind of… um…" Riku smiled as he realized what she meant, and shook his head. She was right though. It was kind of hot. Sora was already exploring the weapons, and he paused as he looked at the keyblades, a thoughtful expression crossing his face.

"Riku?" Riku stepped up behind him, tilting his head to one side as he looked at the keyblades. They were… odd. They seemed to flicker, as if they weren't entirely there. "You know… I just thought of something."

"What is that?" Riku reached out to touch a keyblade, and sighed as it seemed to dissipate at his touch. It wasn't surprising… he still had the Soul Eater. But he hadn't been able to defeat Ansem with it.

"If… if we could learn magic and how to fight better and… everything… maybe we could go back." There was a brief pause. "To get our revenge." Riku blinked. That wasn't a very Sora-like thing to say. But then… the time in Ansem's care had changed them all. And all their friends were dead and the worlds were falling apart… so really, what was left but revenge?

"Yeah. Maybe we could, after a year." Riku felt a sudden surge of hope. They would only have to help Ya Tashra for a year… then they could do whatever they wanted. Seshti hadn't specified a reward, but surely she'd be willing to send them back home. She was threatening them with it right now. "But we don't have a keyblade anymore, Sora." That would be a definite crimp in the plans. Sora stared at the shifting keyblades, and reached out.

A hilt slapped into his hand, and Riku stared in shock as Sora pulled out a keyblade. It was silver metal like the Kingdom Key, but that was where the resemblance ended. The head of the key was black with jagged teeth and broken hearts. The hilt was equally black… and also in the shape of a cracked heart. Riku swallowed, not liking the symbolism at all.

"It's the… the Broken Dream." Sora sounded almost ready to cry, and Riku hugged him gently as he realized what the keyblade signified. All of the dreams that had turned to ash when they had failed their world.

"We can use it to defeat Ansem when we're done here." Riku said quietly, and Sora nodded.

It was something to look forward to.


	3. Flowers Hurt

"Where can they be?" Axel watched sadly as Roxas paced in front of him.

They were in what was left of the Beast's castle. Beast and Belle were long gone, and most of the building with them… but a few shards were left, floating in the abyss that was all that was left of this particular world. For the moment, it was Organization 13's hangout.

It wouldn't be for long. Ansem had won, and that had had desperate, dire consequences for the Nobodies. Ansem had no use for his Nobody shadow, and Xenmas had been forced into direct conflict with his Heartless. It was bizarre but all the more desperate because of the connection. Ansem had enhanced his might considerably when he had connected himself to Kingdom Hearts, and Xenmas was hopelessly outmatched. For a time the Nobodies had struggled to give themselves hearts in an effort to meet Ansem on something like even ground, but he had invaded and destroyed the World that Never Was. Some of the Nobodies managed to survive, but their forces had been drastically reduced and they were on the run. Axel was a Nobody and couldn't feel emotions they way somebody's did… but it still pained him to see them reduced to this.

"I don't know Roxas." They were talking about Sora, Riku and Kairi. Getting spies into Ansem's castle actually wasn't that hard. Dusk's were so… faint to him that they were hard to detect and ward against. They were also hard to get reports out of, but Vexen and Zexion had managed to figure out a way to rig them up to be recorders. One of them had caught Ansem's explosive reaction when his three toys simply vanished one day. And even if it hadn't, the sweep of Heartless that had driven them here would have let them know that something was wrong. Before this they had been hiding in the remains of Agrabah, which actually had some living people in it. Well, it had. Not anymore.

They had actually been planning to break out the three, in the faint hope that removed from Ansem, Sora would be able to rejoin Roxas and wield the keyblade again. And perhaps, with his Nobodies power, he would defeat Ansem. And if not, maybe they could do something with Riku. Or figure out some use for Kairi… anything. Axel reflected for a moment on necessity making strange bedfellows… Xenmas was another aspect of Ansem, but they were thinking of allying with the keybladers. So odd. Of course, if they had any sense the keyblade wielders wouldn't trust Xenmas as far as they could throw him, but there were ways around that. Blood oaths were always potent.

But now they were gone, and no one knew where. It was maddening. Roxas threw himself down onto the remains of the bed… it was in as bad a shape as the rest of the castle, nothing but a torn, stained mattress in fact. But it was better than bedding down on the floor.

"Why isn't he using me?" Roxas growled, but answered himself before Axel could. "I know, I know. I'm too valuable and if it fails I'll probably be lost to the darkness. Blah blah blah. But we're not going to last much longer at this rate." Axel sighed and pushed himself off his chair, going to the blond in the bed and kneeling beside him.

"You need some stress relief, Roxy." Axel's hands slowly kneaded Roxas' back through his robes, and Roxas squirmed for a moment before submitting to the touch with a sigh. "Roll over." Roxas obediently rolled over, and Axel expertly unzipped his cloak, quickly tossing it to the side. His own went after, followed by boots and pants. Neither one wore underwear, and Axel ground his hips against Roxas, their cocks sliding against each other in a delicious friction. They kissed, and it was rough, bruising. Roxas bit his lip and Axel sighed at the taste of coppery blood in his mouth. "Mmm, Roxas."

"Axel." Roxas growled in his ear, anger and need coloring his voice with as much emotion as a Nobody could find. "Take me. Now. Make me bleed." It wasn't an unusual request, and Axel was more than willing to oblige, shoving harshly into the blond beneath him. New stains were added to the mattress as blood began to seep down Roxas' thighs, and the blond wrapped his legs around Axel's waist, groaning as the redhead pounded him hard. It was just the way he liked it… hard and deep and fast… and then Axel wrapped a hand around his erection, stroking it perfectly. "Ahh Axel!"Axel bit his shoulder, hard, tasting Roxas' blood as well as his own. The soft, warm heat around his member was maddening, the way the blood slipped between them… Axel speeded his thrusts, trying to go even deeper, and Roxas made a dark, guttural sound as Axel hit his sweet spot again and again. "Fuck, Axel…"

"Yeah, that's… what we're doing. Keep your… eyes on the ball, Rox." Axel laughed wildly, ignoring the sound of someone hammering on their door.

"Keep it down or start selling tickets, you fuckers!" Larxene's voice was waspish, but they didn't care. Roxas laughed and then howled just for her… although it didn't take much as Axel brought him to his release, his toes curling with the force of his orgasm. Axel followed a moment later with a shout, and joined Roxas' laughter as Larxene swore at them both.

"Tickets? I wouldn't fucking pay to watch that." Luxord's resonant voice reached them easily. The broken walls of the castle were absurdly thin, not that anyone really cared. Except when passionate sex interrupted sleep. "Hey, Larx, why don't we put on our own show and see if they can sleep through it?" Axel, who had just closed his eyes, opened them in annoyance.

"Oh they wouldn't." Roxas laughed tiredly as another mattress started creaking and a female voice swore again… but this time with a note of need. "That's… fucking hot." Axel turned his head and grinned at Roxas. "Let's do it again. But you take me this time. Make me bleed, Roxas." Roxas blinked in surprise, then grinned as Axel's hand darted out and closed on him, stroking roughly. Axel rarely asked for that… but when he did…

This was going to be a good night.

* * *

"Ohhh, it's perfect, he's trying to meditate!" Three heads were peeking around the door again… and this time the wizard was doing something completely different. He was sitting on the floor cross-legged, eyes closed and gentle music playing. "And it looks like he's managing it. He'll be all soft and cuddly for a moment when I wake him. Come on in." Seshti skipped into the room as Riku and Sora followed hesitantly. They weren't entirely sure about this… but she'd assured them that even if he decided to stake her, her brother wouldn't hurt them.

He was wearing a completely different outfit today, and Riku had to blink a bit, resisting the urge to rub his eyes. The pants were completely normal, black slacks, but the shirt looked like it had been made out of fish scales. It glittered under the soft lights of the room and as Riku stared, fascinated, he realized it was actually silver. Real metal plaques, each as tiny as grains of sand, somehow joined together to make what looked like fabric from a distance. Idly, he wondered if it was actually protective. But from what Sesthi had said, Ya Tashra wouldn't need it to be.

Seshti stopped in front of her brother, and tilted her head, regarding him thoughtfully for a moment. He was completely oblivious, deep in his trance, and she suddenly grinned wickedly. Before they could stop her, she walked over to his music system and tapped a button. Riku and Sora both flinched and the wizard started violently out of his trance as the dulcet sounds turned into heavy metal.

"What?!?" He leapt to his feet, then stumbled and had to grip his desk. Riku realized he was muscular, but much slighter than Ansem. Yellow eyes blinked at them, then traveled to Seshti, who leaned against the machine and grinned at him. "Bitch! What are you doing here?"

"I have a present for you, brother!" She said brightly, and gestured to Sora and Riku. "These two are here to help you with your… problem." Yellow eyes widened, then narrowed into angry slits as Ya Tashra glared at his sister.

"I do not need night lotuses!" He snarled at her, and Sora and Riku exchanged a glance. "And I would-erk!" She leapt at him with stunning suddenness, grabbing his head and slamming his face into the desk.

"I am sick to death of your stupid night lotuses!" _**WHAM!**_ "It's been three thousand years!" _**WHAM!**_ "Get over it already!" _**WHAM!**_ Riku and Sora both flinched as blood suddenly sprayed across the floor. "Now get laid! Or I'll kill you!" _**WHAM!**_ Dropping the stunned, hurt wizard to the floor, Seshti sniffed and started out. Sora hesitated, and was about to follow when she gestured to him. "No, you stay here and help him get cleaned up." There was a groan from the floor, and Riku kneeled beside the man, gently helping him up a bit. Riku almost flinched as he touched the wizard's skin… he felt like he had a fever, his skin far too hot. Amazingly, from blows that should have completely pulped his face, all Ya Tashra had was a bloody nose… and it was already stopping. He blinked at them, dazed, then shook his head.

"I'm very sorry." His voice was tired, but soft and melodic, a light baritone. "I'll send you back-"

"No!" Sora said violently, and Riku shook his head. "Please don't send us back! Not to that…" Ya Tashra blinked, and for the first time really focused on them. He frowned as he took in the shabby grey uniforms they were wearing… and Sora's condition in particular. Two days hadn't been enough to add much weight to his painfully thin frame. Ya Tashra hesitated, then rubbed his forehead with one hand, closing his eyes for a moment.

"I'm sorry. I didn't ask. Where did she find you?" Riku frowned, trying to think of how to explain… but the wizard shook his head. "Nevermind. I can look for myself." He flicked his fingers, and a small scene appeared in midair… Ansem's castle. The view shifted until it found Ansem… and a new pet he'd found someplace, a man with blond hair. Ya Tashra watched, almost indifferent, then quickly shut it off. "I see. A reversed universe… well. That explains a lot." He seemed on the brink of saying something else, but lapsed into silence instead, staring away. Riku hesitated, then touched his shoulder.

"Do you need any water? Ice?" He said softly as Ya Tashra glanced at him. "Your skin feels… hot."

"It would." The wizard shook his head. "No, thank you. What's your name?" He already thought he knew, but it was good to be sure.

"I'm Riku, and this is Sora." Riku gestured to the brunette, who nodded shyly. Ya Tashra nodded back, and got to his feet.

"Call me Tash. Since you've been… given to me, so to speak, I suppose I'm somewhat responsible for you now." He couldn't have sounded more grudging, and Sora swallowed as Riku frowned faintly. Seducing the man was going to be hard. He had barriers fully up. On the other hand… it was certainly different from Ansem. "Those clothes are terrible. Come here… I think my clothes should fit you, for the time being anyway." Riku considered the wizard, and nodded. The clothing would be a touch tight on him and loose on Sora, but it should do temporarily. "Hm…" Tash looked through his closet, and quickly tossed out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt for each of them, along with a belt for Sora. There was no way the shorts would stay up, otherwise. "I'll have to take you shopping tomorrow…" The wizard suddenly stopped and gritted his teeth. Riku watched, fascinated, as sweat beaded on his forehead for a moment as he closed his eyes tightly. Then he blinked rapidly for a moment. "…Or get someone else to do it." Tash's voice was raspy, and Riku suddenly stepped forward.

"Seshti's right, isn't she? You really need sex." Tash twitched, but didn't deny it, just glowered at the silver hair. "…Please. I can help you." Riku had known partners before Ansem. He wasn't inexperienced in any way. Sora looked nervous about the whole thing though. Tash stared into aquamarine eyes a moment, then nodded choppily.

"Then come to my room tonight, and we'll see." Tash's voice was uneven, slightly rasping. Riku wondered for a moment what he was getting himself into, but it was too late to go back now. And better him than Sora. Before Ansem had gotten his hands on Sora, he'd been a virgin, so his sexual awakening had been brutal. Riku at least knew how sex was supposed to go. "For now, go back to Seshti. And tell her if she ever does anything like this again, I'm going to stake her."

"I imagine half the people in this building have wanted to stake Seshti." Riku couldn't resist saying, and was rewarded with a quick flash of white teeth against dark skin as the wizard smiled.

"You'd be right. But I'm the only one who actually has. Now go… I need to prepare." Riku nodded respectfully, and he and Sora both stepped out, taking their temporary clothes with them.

Although that last sentence made Riku wonder. What preparations were needed? Was Tash into something kinky? But Seshti had made it sound like he never had sex at all.

It was odd.

* * *

_Flowers._

_Too many flowers. The scent is cloying, choking with a vague undertone of rot. But the flowers have to be there. He likes the flowers… likes the way they tangle in purple hair and the way the thorns prick and the beautiful little drops of blood…_

_Wear the flowers for him. Have to wear the flowers. It hurts why do flowers hurt?_

* * *

Riku stepped into Tash's bedroom, and blinked at the sight in front of him. It was… not unfamiliar, but it was startling.

The bedroom itself was beautiful. There was a water feature, a wall of black jade that water flowed over and splashed into the pool beneath. Delicate vines ran up the wall, although there were no flowers. There was a bookshelf in the corner and a thick, intricate rug on the hardwood floor. The bed was big and had a comforter in patterns of green, gold and purple. Riku blinked as he recognized the colors from Seshti's room. Did that mean something?

But the really startling part was Tash himself. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a flower, a large trumpet blossom that he stared at with a pensive expression. He was wearing a white silk robe, embroidered with gold, and he had pulled his braids into an intricate woven pattern. White flowers had been woven into the braids, and something wasn't quite right about them but Riku was at a loss to say what. But the whole thing was as unlike Ansem as could be imagined. In fact, it reminded Riku more of meeting a girl… he'd never seen a man wearing flowers like this. But if that was how the wizard wanted it… Riku knew what to do. In fact, it would be a pleasant change.

Riku walked over confidently and sat down beside Tash, folding the other man into an embrace. Tash dropped the flower, and Riku briefly noticed that there was blood on his fingers before the other man melted against him, kissing him passionately. The kiss felt almost desperate, as if the wizard was trying hard to please, but Riku didn't have time to think about it as strong, dark skinned fingers began removing his clothes. Removing Tash's robe was child's play for him… there was nothing underneath it. Riku was pleased with what was revealed… Tash's body was as desirable as he had thought, muscles flexing under dark skin. Riku helped him slide off the t-shirt, and kicked away his shorts before sliding into bed with the wizard. Tash fit neatly underneath him, and as he looked into golden eyes Riku saw need and… fear? Why would someone powerful enough to make an entire world and absorb blows from a vampire be afraid of him?

But he didn't have time to think about it as Tash kissed him. The wizard's lips felt warm and yielding under his, begging to be taken, and Riku moaned softly. This was how he had always liked it, before Ansem had taught him otherwise. Not thinking at all, he began exploring the warm, desirable body underneath him, and gasped as he felt a hand surrounding his erection, gently tugging and stroking him.

_He knows how to do this._ Not just that, Tash felt experienced… but Riku ignored it. After three thousand years, he'd have had to done it a few times, no matter what Seshti said. And he felt eager… if anything a bit too eager. There was an odd edge of desperation to all the pleasant things he was doing. Riku thought about saying something, then decided against it, just enjoying the feelings and returning the touches. He grabbed the small bottle of lube Seshti had thoughtfully provided and used it to coat his fingers before reaching down to open the wizard. Tash gasped, then whimpered softly, eyes shutting tightly as Riku began to ease him open. Riku frowned… Tash wasn't just tight, he was tense, far too tense.

"Shhh, relax. You need to relax." Riku tried to soothe the wizard, and was a bit alarmed to see that Tash had his eyes tightly shut. "Tash… please, I don't want to hurt you." Tash opened his eyes, and the yellow orbs were fogged with lust and… anguish?

"It always hurts. I'm okay." He whispered, and Riku hesitated before keeping on his efforts to stretch the wizard. "Trying…" With a great deal of difficulty, Tash tried to relax, letting his head slip back and taking long, steady breaths. Riku replaced one finger with two, and carefully moved them around, trying to find the wizard's sweet spot. He knew he had when Tash drew in a sharp breath, and Riku smiled, kissing him again.

When he thought Tash was as stretched as he was going to get, Riku pulled his fingers away and bent Tash's legs up, slowly sliding into him. Tash cried out, as much in pain as pleasure and Riku gasped at how tight and hot he was. It was more heat than he'd ever felt from another person before… almost burning. And it felt tremendously good. He could barely control himself, and started thrusting too soon, more roughly than he intended. Riku looked into the wizard's face and felt guilty as he saw the pain there… but then Tash cried out in pleasure as Riku hit his sweet spot.

"Ahn… har-harder… please…" Tash panted, gazing into Riku's face, his yellow eyes fogged with lust. "I'm trying… trying…"

"Uh?" Riku didn't understand that, but decided he didn't care, pressing into that glorious warmth and nuzzling Tash's throat, enjoying the sweet smell of flowers. Tash's erection was hard against his belly, and Riku groaned, feeling the friction and pleasure coming to a peak. Tash came hard with a cry, his white, milky seed wetting them both. Riku came a moment later, muffling his cry against Tash's shoulder. He lay tangled with the wizard for a moment, then slowly pulled away, laying down beside him. Ansem would push him away as soon as he was finished with him, and he briefly wondered if Tash would be the same. But the man curled up beside him instead, resting his face on Riku's chest. Riku sighed, and gently stroked the braids. They were pleasant to touch, although wet…

Wait. Wet?

"Huh?" Riku raised his hand up, and blinked at the blood, then paled, searching Tash's hair for the source. When he found it he felt nauseated. "Tash, why are you wearing those? Get them off!" Tash blinked at him, confused, and Riku cursed and started pulling the flowers out of his hair. Now he could see what was wrong with them… they weren't being held in place with clips, they had long black thorns tangled into his hair. And what they had done had driven the thorns into his flesh, little streams of blood sliding into his hair. Tash winced in pain as Riku removed the flowers and threw them on the floor.

"You don't like them?" Tash said, curiously vulnerable, and Riku blinked.

"They're just flowers… you don't need them." Tash looked away, his expression strange, and Riku gripped his shoulder. "Tash?"

"…Thank you." Riku blinked as Tash hugged him, and Riku folded his arms around the other man.

It was strange how an ancient, incredibly powerful wizard could seem so vulnerable… and Riku suddenly shivered as he wondered why. He would have to ask. But not right now… right now, Tash just needed to relax.

And whatever had caused this had to be painful.


	4. Put a Spell on You

"If, by some insane miracle, we win this, I want Ansem's balls." Larxene stabbed her food with a fork. Nobodies didn't need to eat much, but they did need to eat a bit to maintain the body. And food was getting very hard to find, so they were eating what Vexen described as long eared rodent. No one had asked for more clarification, fearing that the correct term was rat. "So I can eat them in front of him."

"Gross. You're that hungry?" Axel commented, pushing his food around. Roxas and Xigbar were with them, both eating their food without complaint. Larxene shook her head.

"No, I'm pissed about Demyx. Poor little guy." Axel blinked, surprised… no, shocked… at that display of caring from Larxene. Although, interestingly, their circumstances had forced the Nobodies into being a more cohesive unit than they had ever been before. There was no room for backbiting when death was so close. Still… they rarely shed any tears for each other. And certainly not for a member as useless as Demyx.

"Really?" Xigbar sounded as surprised as Axel felt. "That's so… unlike you." Larxene shrugged.

"I miss his sitar. This place has shit for entertainment. Now the only music we've got is Xaldin singing in the bath and that really sucks." Everyone winced. Although…

"I only wish we had a shower." Xigbar muttered, scratching himself. "I feel foul." Larxene groaned, laying her head on the table. All of the plumbing in what was left of the Beast's castle was broken, making their stay even less pleasant than it could have been. Fortunately, there was a spring of water… no one was allowed to bathe in it for fear of fouling it, but it was possible to carry the water up in buckets and with a bit of fire from Axel, everyone could have a hot bath. It was too much work to do everyday though, so regular baths were becoming a thing of the past. Quick sponge downs were the norm.

"You had to mention that. D'you think Dem is still alive?" Larxene asked, and Roxas shrugged.

"If he's lucky… no." Roxas ate a large piece of meat, chewing thoughtfully. "But since his pets all disappeared, he might be keeping Demyx around." They knew the Nobody had been taken alive, but Ansem normally didn't keep Nobodies for long. There were only so many games you could play with a Nobody compared to a real person. The lack of a heart was a hindrance. But with no one else interesting to play with, Ansem might indeed be keeping Demyx around.

"We're not rescuing him." Axel muttered, and no one disagreed. Demyx had been rather useless, entertainment value notwithstanding. Larxene just shrugged.

"His balls are mine." No one disagreed with that either. Axel just wished he thought Larxene would actually get a chance at them.

But it wasn't likely.

* * *

"Why do you look like that?" Riku asked Tash, who shrugged.

"It's actually my original form." Riku blinked at that, a touch surprised. The wizard was looking nothing like he had before. Now, he was a slight young man with pale skin, purple hair and green eyes, and a pronounced resemblance to Seshti. Which made sense, come to think of it. The features that were beautiful on Seshti were cute on a boy… probably too cute for a master wizard. Riku thought that he liked it, though. "But playing with the darkness changes you. My actual physical body is what you saw before."

"Ah." That also made sense. From the pictures, Ansem had once had pale skin and black hair, but that had been reversed when he became a Heartless. "You've used the darkness a lot?" Riku asked absently as he picked out shirts to try on. Tash shrugged.

"Enough. Entropy is related to the darkness. It's a bit hard to explain, but I've used the light just as much. Hey… Sora, maybe you should try this?" Tash had found a neat little outfit that was the same blue as Sora's eyes, with white straps and a black vest. Riku smiled slightly… he thought it would look very good on Sora, but he wanted something a bit more adult for himself.

They were in the Mall. That was its only name, and for good reason… it was the only Mall on the Twisted World and it was huge. There were chains from every dimension known to man and some from other species. Tash compared Starbucks to an infectious disease. Apparently, after reaching the Twisted World the chain had managed to spread to almost a dozen dimensions. Riku wasn't sure what Starbucks was yet, but he was looking forward to trying it. Something that popular had to be good.

Soon they had finished loading up on new clothes, and they decided unanimously to change into their new outfits. Sora decided to wear the blue one Tash had found, and Kairi had a new pink dress that resembled her old one. Riku had blue jeans and a white silk tank top. Simple, but it worked. Riku paused at a tattoo parlor, looking at the selection of studs available. "…Do you guys think I should get my ears pierced? Or maybe just one?" Tash looked at the jewelry thoughtfully, and fingered his own ears… they were pierced, but he hadn't worn earrings in centuries.

"It's up to you. Earrings had social connotations in my homeworld." That was his delicate way of saying that he couldn't be unbiased on the subject. Riku tilted his head to one side, looking at him curiously.

"Oh? What sort of connotations?" Tash hesitated, then sighed.

"Only the… younger children, or those of humble origins, would wear earrings when I grew up. It was a… an odd status symbol because the earrings were expensive, but no one truly rich or powerful would do it." Tash smiled then, a touch sadly. "Often piercings were involuntary, for lovers and pets." Riku blinked, noticing that Tash had pierced ears… and decided not to ask.

"Well… maybe someday." For now, though, he decided against it.

"Riku!" Sora's call caught their attention, and they walked over to where he was standing. "Hey, look!" Sora grinned widely as he played with a paper airplane. It was magical, and kept floating back to him no matter how he threw it. "This is awesome!"

"Yeah, it is." Riku said quietly, and smiled. Sora was finally acting like a fourteen year old again… rather than a sex slave. It was beautiful to see. Sora quickly bought the plane… Tash had given them all plenty of spending money… and they kept looking through the Mall.

"Oh look, Starbucks. Would you like a coffee?" Tash asked, and Riku nodded immediately. He'd had coffee before and loved it, but Ansem had never provided it. Kairi and Sora were more hesitant… they'd never tried it before… and finally they both went for frappuchinos. The Twisted World was a bit warm today. The temperature here didn't seem to have much rhyme or reason, although it rarely got truly hot or cold. Tash added plenty of sugar and milk to his coffee, sipping it carefully.

"So what do you usually do when you come here?" Riku wanted to know a bit more about Tash. It only seemed right, since he was sharing the wizard's bed. Tash hesitated, then smiled faintly.

"Promise not to laugh?" Riku blinked and nodded. "I usually go to the arcade and play video games for a while. Although I don't come here very often."

"That sounds like fun. Can we go?" Sora asked enthusiastically and Tash nodded.

"Certainly." The arcade, when they reached it, was full of all kinds of games… everything ranging from first person shooter to something called Angels that seemed to involve a stadium and little dolls that were controlled via headsets. Sora immediately decided to try it, although Tash just shook his head with a smile, steering Riku off. "He's going to fail miserably."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Riku asked neutrally, a little miffed at the disparaging of Sora's abilities. Tash's smile widened.

"Let me show you." He rented two of the Angel dolls and took them to a practice area, handing Riku the headset. "Try to control your doll." Riku blinked, and put on the headset. Little children were doing it, how hard could it be?

As it turned out, plenty hard. Riku blinked as his doll tried to stand and fell over. He had picked out a tall boy doll with long silver hair and red clothing. It looked vaguely like Sephiroth, but cuter.

"Oookay…" Riku concentrated, and gradually figured out how to give the commands. But then Tash's doll, a tiny blond girl in a blue outfit, leapt at his and knocked it to the ground. "Hey!"

"This game requires a great deal of practice before you get any good at it." Tash explained, and touched a button. Riku tilted his head as music came through over his headpiece. "The best practice is dancing… like so." Tash's doll sprang away and began to groove to the beat. Riku's doll managed to stand and Riku began to try to make it dance.

It took a great deal of time and concentration, but eventually the dolls were dancing. Sora came over, red faced and embarrassed, holding his doll and headset.

"Riku, I couldn't… what are you doing?" He blinked at the dolls dancing. They were beginning to really get their groove on, making a pretty dance.

"If you're serious about playing Angels, this is how you practice." Tash said with a small smile, watching the dolls dance. "Personally, I've never gotten into the game… I only learned it because Seshti loved it for a while. It's really rather limited, nothing but duels. I prefer games that have a puzzle element." Sora nodded, setting his doll down… he'd picked out a little boy doll that looked amazingly like himself, but with blond hair… and tried to get it to dance.

"Sora, where's Kairi?" Riku asked with a small frown, glancing around. Sora looked puzzled.

"I'm not sure. She probably went off to play something." There were tons of games here. Tash frowned faintly, and his doll danced over. He picked it up… he didn't really like playing with Angels anyway.

"I'll go look for her, if you want. This game isn't really my thing, and you should know what to do now." Riku gave him a grateful smile. He was probably being a little paranoid, but he wanted to know where Kairi was. Tash walked off into the crowd, probing a little with his magic. It wouldn't take much to track down a Princess of the Heart.

So it proved. He was a little startled to see who Kairi was speaking with, though. It was another Sora… and the female Riku. Although she was actually sobbing into Riku's chest. The female Riku was looking a little helpless, gently patting her on the back.

"Kairi." Tash said gently… he could imagine what the problem was. When dop alts with particularly hard lives met ones who had had things easier, resentment and pain were almost inevitable. "Riku and Sora were wondering where you are." He reached out and touched her shoulder. Kairi blinked and sniffed, slowly pulling away from Riku. Riku stepped back and took Sora's hand with a definitely possessive air. But at the same time… she was concerned for this new Kairi. She hadn't understood most of what Kairi had babbled out, but she'd gotten enough.

"You're going to take good care of them, right?" Riku asked him, recognizing from the necklace he was wearing that he was somehow affiliated with Ya Tashra. It was a common symbol for apprentices to wear. Tash hesitated, then nodded.

"Of course." He hadn't made that promise explicitly before… but he'd have done it anyway. His honor demanded it. "My master will take care of it." Kairi blinked at him but had the sense not to say anything, and Riku nodded, relieved. Tash quickly pulled Kairi away before she let anything slip.

"Master?" She said softly to him, and Tash nodded.

"I prefer to be thought a nameless apprentice when I go to places like this. When they know who I am, things tend to get a bit strange." It was very uncomfortable, being treated like a living god wherever he went. The shape shifting got around that quite neatly. "I should have mentioned that… sorry."

"It's not a problem. I'm sorry for… having a bit of a breakdown." She sniffed, wiping away a bit of moisture from her cheeks. "That Sora comes from a world nothing like ours, but Riku… she came from a place where we won. It's just so… so unfair." Tash nodded sadly.

"The universe doesn't care about good or evil, right or wrong…" That was something Ya Tashra knew from bitter experience. "And certainly not about fairness. That's a mortal thing." Tash sighed, then smiled faintly as he changed the subject. "Would you like to try Angels? Riku and Sora seem to be enjoying it."

"Um… sure, why not." The fighting dolls didn't quite look like her thing, but Kairi was willing to be flexible. And she laughed when she saw the dolls dancing. Sora looked up with a grin as he heard her laugh.

"C'mon Kairi, this is really fun!" She shrugged with a smile as she put in her own doll… she'd picked it completely at random, and had ended up with a redheaded boy doll with bright, spiky hair. The doll danced easily with Sora's doll, and Tash glanced up as he felt… what? Something magical about the moment.

Then Tash shrugged and put in his own doll. The Twisted World was the hub of all universes now, so omens and portents tended to just happen. They were nothing to be concerned about.

* * *

"Hey, Roxas?"

"Yes Axel?"

"Want to dance?"

"…Yeah." And so they danced to a beat only they could hear, and thought nothing of it.

* * *

"Mmmm, tacos." Sora took a bit bite of his, and accidentally dribbled sour cream on his shirt. "Darnit!" Riku grinned at that mild expletive, looking around. They were at Marco's, the restaurant Seshti had mentioned, and were enjoying the food. It was Mexican fast food, nothing fancy… but the three of them had never had Mexican food before. It was nothing like what was commonly eaten on the Destiny Islands, but they already liked it.

"We should go to the Beached Whale someday." Tash mused as he ate his burrito. "It's cuisine taken directly from the Destiny Islands, actually. It just opened last week, thanks to the portal link I put up to there."

"Wait, you have a portal to the Destiny Islands?" Sora asked… then wilted. "Oh. But not our Destiny Islands." Their home had fallen into the darkness long ago. Tash nodded.

"You could even go there if you wanted, but… I would recommend against it." Riku winced at the thought. That would be painful. "But the restaurant might be fun."

"Yeah, it might be." It would still bring up memories… but with just the food, it could be good ones. Then Sora grinned. "But for tonight… tacos!" He took another bite and got a bit more sour cream on his shirt. "Fudge!" They all laughed at him as Sora blushed.

"You are such a kid, Sora." Riku said fondly, passing him a napkin to wipe himself off with. Sora's smile faded, and he looked down into his food.

"No… I'm not, Riku." He said quietly, then took another big bite of the taco to distract himself. He didn't want to think, didn't want to remember. But he wasn't a child anymore, and he never would be. Riku reached out to take his friend's hand, and Tash watched, expressionless, his green eyes dark.

"Well… we should get back to the tower soon." He finally said. "I have some work that needs doing, and I actually feel well enough to do it." His temperature had gone down quite a bit… although that wouldn't last unless… Tash swallowed, then said unwillingly. "Riku…" He didn't know how to ask, but Riku understood.

"After supper?" Tash nodded, a touch relieved, and Riku smiled faintly. "Should Sora come too?" Normally he'd have tried to protect Sora… but he was sure now that Tash was no threat. Sora blinked then blushed as he realized what they were talking about.

"If you want." Tash said quietly, glancing at Sora for a moment. Sora made him feel… protective. Like an older brother. So it might be a touch odd. Still… Kairi suddenly spoke.

"I'm going to be hanging out with Seshti after supper. She said she has something to show me." Kairi's smile was entirely innocent, and made Tash blink.

"Uh…" Tash said cautiously. "She's a vampire, Kairi." He looked at her worriedly, but the innocent smile widened into a grin that wasn't innocent at all.

"I know. She mentioned that she's been a bad girl lately and needs a stern talking to." Tash almost choked on his burrito as Riku and Sora looked at Kairi wide eyed. Where had this come from? Although after their time with Ansem, Kairi was no more innocent than the rest of them. "I think I want to see what she means." Tash gave up.

"Oh. Well, have fun with that." He was quite sure his sister wouldn't hurt Kairi. Rather the opposite, in fact, if she was saying she'd been a bad girl.

It would definitely be interesting.

* * *

"Ohh yes! Harder!" Riku paused as he heard the cries from outside Seshti's rooms. He'd decided to check on Kairi before he and Sora went to see Tash. Kairi had gone to have a private supper with the vampire, followed by something else. It was clear that something else was already happening. Riku's eyes narrowed as he heard the crack of a whip. Ansem had been more than willing to use whips on them, or get his Heartless to do it… surely Seshti wasn't…? There was music playing as well, but he ignored it for now.

He had to be sure. Riku carefully snuck into the room and heard moans from the bedroom… and a breathy laugh that sounded like Kairi. The door was open, and Riku cautiously peered around it… and froze, staring, his aquamarine eyes widening.

Seshti wasn't the one with the whip. Rather, Kairi was… and Seshti was kneeling on the floor, writhing languidly and held in place with black gauze. The gauze looked magical, or possibly vampiric in nature… no normal fabric could have held the vampire so easily, especially not something that looked so light. Riku blinked as the sounds of the song penetrated his mind…

_I'm a Hex Girl,_

_And I'm gonna put a spell on you!_

_With this little cobweb potion,_

_You'll fall into dark devotion,_

_If you ever lose affection_

_I can change your whole direction!_

Kairi snapped the whip again, and Riku stared as blood slid down the white skin… but the wound closed instantly and Seshti seemed to love it. He noticed the whip seemed to be edged with wire… it was a tool meant to hurt.

"Oh Kairi! Oh yes, yes…" Seshti threw back her head, and Riku gasped softly at the way her naked breasts moved. Seshti was wearing nothing at all… and Kairi was only wearing boots. Blushing bright red, Riku stumbled back and beat a hasty retreat. This looked perverted… but also completely consensual. And he wasn't going to try to save Kairi if she didn't need saving.

Exiting the room, Riku suddenly grinned. At least it was completely different from Ansem! The thought of them being allowed to whip the Heartless was absurd. Hopefully, Kairi would enjoy herself… no matter how strange it seemed.

* * *

"Tash… can I…" Riku reached over to gently touch one of Sora's rosebud nipples. The brunette's eyes shot up as he gave Riku a look of pure want. Tash briefly pulled back from what he was doing to him, and Sora whimpered softly at the loss of his warm, wet mouth.

"You don't have to ask Riku." Tash admonished him gently, and Riku blushed faintly. Ansem had never allowed them to touch each other in an intimate way… Riku could still remember the punishment he and Sora had received when they'd ignored that. It was hard to get past. But with Tash's permission, he lowered his head and ran his tongue over Sora's pert little nipples, making the brunette moan as Tash returned to his self-appointed task of making the keyblader come.

"R-Riku…" Sora moaned, a hand tangling in soft silver hair as Riku teased his chest. Riku blinked, then left off what he was doing to kiss Sora instead. Sora tasted good, wonderful in fact. Sora gasped, his back arching a bit as the pleasure reached its peak. "T-Tash… ah!" Sora released in a moment of pure bliss, closing his eyes as he panted for air. Tash swallowed it easily and pulled back, wiping his lips and breathing heavily. Silvery braids slid over his shoulder, and Riku felt a sudden urge to touch them. He loved the way those braids felt in his hands…

"Tash." Riku crawled over as the wizard looked up, and kissed him heavily, tongue exploring the other's mouth. He could taste Sora there, hot and heavy and salty. He slid his hands through those beautiful braids, trying to free them from the pattern Tash had worked them into. Tash groaned softly in his mouth, molding himself to Riku's body as Sora pushed himself up a little to watch. The threesome seemed to come naturally to them, and Sora blushed and began to touch himself as Riku pressed Tash back, spreading his legs and stretching him out. Soon the two were tangled together and moaning, and Sora swallowed hard at the sight of pale skin against dark, silvery braids sliding against the bed. He wanted… to participate. Sliding up behind Riku, Sora ran a finger down the silver hair's spine just as he hit something sensitive inside Tash. The way he arched as Tash cried out was unbearably sexy, and Sora swallowed again as he stroked his own throbbing length. Riku murmured something Tash's ear, and the wizard gasped, gripping Riku's shoulders tightly. Sora could see the pleasure in Tash's yellow eyes… but with that odd edge of anguish. It never left, no matter how much he seemed to be enjoying what was happening.

Sora came before Tash and Riku, blushing slightly at the mess on the bedsheets. Then Tash cried out, a thin sound of pure, orgiastic pleasure and Riku followed a moment later, stiffening then relaxing, nuzzling Tash's throat lovingly.

"I feel like… I could stay here forever." Riku said softly, and Tash froze for a moment before shaking his head.

"You won't want to." Riku looked into his eyes, seeing that anguish again… but this time stronger. He frowned faintly, running a hand through those braids again.

"Why wouldn't I? Why wouldn't we? I like you, and so does Sora." Riku was sure of that. They were starting to feel fond of the wizard, although they didn't understand a lot of what he did most of the time. Riku slowly pulled away as Tash shook his head again.

"I'm not…" The wizard fell silent, staring away. "No. Not important." Riku was about to ask what he was talking about when Tash hugged him almost desperately. He flicked his hand and with a small magic, the messy remains of their lovemaking were cleared away. It was among the most useful magic's Sora had ever seen, and he vaguely wondered if Merlin knew it. If he did, he'd never shown it to Sora. But then Sora tried to imagine why Merlin would know that trick, and shuddered away from the thought. Some things were best left unknown. He cuddled up behind Tash as Riku held him, gently trying to comfort the wizard.

Neither one of them was sure what was wrong with Tash, just that something was very badly wrong. But it was so hard to find a good time to ask.


	5. Flower and Earrings

"_Stupid boy." Hard hands, long fingers that had once touched so lovingly but now they hurt… cold green eyes…_

"_You were always a cold, clumsy lay." But I tried! I tried so hard to make you happy I tried I tried…_

_Pain and little droplets of pretty blood dancing in the air._

"_Get out of my sight."_

* * *

Tash awoke with a start and scrambled over Riku, ignoring the silver hair's startled protest in his desperate need to reach the bathroom. Nausea surged through him violently as he lurched to the toilet and lost everything in his stomach. Tears sliding down his dark skin, the wizard breathed heavily, trying to stop the violent churning in his guts. He could live with the pain most of the time… but intimacy always brought it back, raw and painful as the day it happened.

"Three thousand years, and I still can't get the poison out." He whispered to himself, and looked up as Riku entered the bathroom. "Riku… I… I'm fine."

"You're not fine at all." Riku knelt down beside him, and Tash looked away. That was certainly true… but it didn't really matter. If thousands of years hadn't helped to dull the pain, there was no way Riku was going to get it out. Warm arms slid around him, and Tash shuddered faintly, having to resist the urge to pull away. "Please, Tash. What's wrong? I think we deserve to know." Tash shook his head. "Please?"

"…I suppose." He whispered, closing his eyes and letting himself relax into Riku's arms. He really didn't want to talk about it. But… they would just keep asking. It was better to get it over with. "We should wake Sora up. So I can tell you both at once." Riku nodded, and gently helped him up. But Sora was already awake, sitting up in the bed and rubbing his eyes. Tash settled down on the bed, staring away for a moment before he began to talk.

"You both know a little magic, as keyblade wielders." Sora nodded. It was really more than a little… but it hadn't been enough to win against Ansem. "Have you ever heard of meta-rape?" Sora blinked and exchanged a glance with Riku.

"No, never… what is it?" It sounded bad. Tash sighed.

"It's… what we call any spell that does something so horrible, so brutal to another person that it could be considered a form of rape. Generally speaking, meta-rapes leave the victim alive. Things like stealing bodies or magic." Tash plucked at the bedsheets with one hand. "That was what happened to me about three thousand years ago, when I was just seventeen. But the story starts before that…" Tash drew a breath, and began to explain…

* * *

_I was a serf and the child of serfs. But it wasn't a bad life. I was a house servant… my family had long been noted for our beauty and delicacy, so we had a fairly good place. But then, to my parents' joy, I showed strong magic at the age of twelve. I was sent to the circle to learn, which took me away from my twin sister… we both cried, but there was nothing to be done, and I promised to write._

_I loved my classes, loved the magic and the beauty of the circle. The other children there were mostly scions of the wealthy, and they resented the commoners like me… but at least there were a few of us and I always had some friends. Then, when I was fourteen, I saw him._

_He was so beautiful. His hair was long and tawny gold and his eyes were a lovely, glorious green. He was two years older than me, in more advanced classes and the son of a powerful wizard. I didn't have a chance, but couldn't help but gaze at him with longing from afar._

_Then one day, he noticed me. He smiled at me and brought me a sugar candy… and that was how it began. We began meeting surreptitiously, and he was soon teaching me things I had never dreamed of. How to use my hands to stroke him just the way he wanted. How to use my tongue and lips. How it felt like to have him inside me._

_It wasn't always good for me. He liked it rough, liked to take me too quickly and sometimes it finished too soon. But it didn't matter. I loved him so much. I wore the blooms he liked, the ones with the thorns that sometimes pricked me and he liked that too, the way he could sometimes find blood in my purple hair. He brought me to the jewelry shop and got my ears pierced so I could wear earrings for him. I didn't mind. Lovers of nobles often did that, to show who owned them. He bought me beautiful gold earrings and I wore them, ignoring the whispers of my classmates. They were just jealous._

_When he asked me if I could do something special for him, I naturally agreed. I would do anything for him. And as we made love, he began casting a spell._

_I had never dreamed of such hurt. It felt like his cock was molten metal, covered in needles, impaling me and burning me and tearing me to pieces. It was all the more sickening because I had been aroused until the spell began, and changed pleasure into suffering. I wept and struggled and tried to scream but he muffled me with a rag, forcing the cloth into my mouth and holding me still as the spell and his body raped me. The two things formed an obscene whole, stealing my magic as he stole my innocence. It seemed to go on forever, much longer than his usual lovemaking, and every moment was torment. I couldn't even pass out to escape it._

_Finally he pulled away from me, leaving me limp and half-dead in the garden. It seemed like forever before I could muster the strength to pull my robe down, and even longer before I could crawl back to my rooms. Finally, I collapsed onto my bed and lapsed into unconsciousness._

_It was weeks before I could walk. My master was furious with me, demanding to know what had happened, but I couldn't tell her. Despite what had been done to me, I still loved him. He must have needed my magic desperately to inflict that hurt on me, and I could feel that my magic wasn't dead, only exhausted. I would recover. I could forgive him. Finally, I was strong enough to walk and I immediately went to find him._

"_So Maali?" I said, my voice quiet and fragile. He turned away from his friends, irritation flashing across his face as he saw me. "SoMa?" He frowned, then turned to his friends._

"_Excuse me a moment?" He said to them, then grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away. "What do you want YaTa?" I blinked at the harsh tone in his voice, tilting my head back to look up at him. He'd always been taller than me._

"_SoMa… why? Why did you hurt me?" I had to ask. He stared at me, then smiled and I shivered at the expression._

"_Stupid boy." My eyes widened at the contempt in his tone, as hard fingers gripped me, digging into my skin and raising bruises. "What would I want with a commoner like you? All that was special about you was that power you have… oh, excuse me, you did have." I didn't correct him. After he'd used it on me, I'd looked up that spell he had used and knew he'd gotten it a little wrong. It should have removed most of my magic permanently, but it hadn't. I still had it all… his boost was only temporary. But it would take a long time to fade. And it wasn't important anyway compared to the tears that were springing up in my eyes. "You were always a cold, clumsy lay. Hardly worth the bother to warm up. Only good for a bit of relief until something better came along." I stared at him, shocked beyond words._

"_I t-tried… so hard… I wore the flowers you l-liked…" I sounded so pitiful, so lost and afraid. He leaned close to speak in my ear like the lover he had been._

"_You just weren't very good at it." Tears slid down my cheeks… and then he slapped me, so hard I saw stars behind my eyes and little droplets of blood sprayed from my mouth. I slumped to the ground, stunned. "Now get out of my sight." He walked away, leaving me there with a wound in my heart to match the one in my soul._

_I finally pulled myself together. As I walked back to my room, I yanked off the earrings so hard my ears bled and threw them into the water with the night lotuses. Let the fish have them, I didn't care._

_From then on, I had no friends. The noble children laughed at me and none of the commoners wanted anything to do with me. I didn't care, or at least convinced myself I didn't care. Magic was my only solace. Math and magic wouldn't hurt me. They were my friends. And my sister. I had always written to her but I wrote to Seshti more now, and she wrote to me, sharing the details of the strange man who had bought her. We shared our misery and it felt like we were closer than ever. Eventually, I became a master wizard and went to save her from that man… finding out he was really a vampire and she had already been turned._

_What happened after that is another story._

* * *

"Tash…" Riku slowly stroked the white braids as the wizard curled up against his chest. Sora was crying quietly, sympathetic tears, and Riku had never felt so helpless. "I'm sorry."

In some ways, what had happened to Ya Tashra was crueler than anything Ansem had done to them. He'd been an enemy, and they knew it, no matter how he made their bodies respond. There had been the pain of failure, the pain of being unwilling sex slaves to their enemy… but not the betrayal of a lover. Not the cold, calculated breaking of a heart by someone who was trusted. Ansem had done his best to break their hearts and spirits… but they hadn't trusted him in the first place.

"It's okay." Tash said softly, his eyes closed. "I mean… it's not, but if thousands of years can't help it's not getting better. Meta-rapes can do that. The poison just doesn't come out…" Tash shivered, and Sora hugged both him and Riku, trying to help. "I just wish I didn't cycle. It brings everything back." When he was out of his heat time, he could completely avoid sex and be absorbed in the magic and math. It was how he liked to live his life, and what made this time a torment to him. "But that's why you won't stay." Riku blinked, not following the logic. "I know I'm cold and clumsy. You don't have to flatter me."

"That's not true at all!" Sora said sharply before Riku could speak. "He was just trying to hurt you, why would you believe him?" Tash opened his eyes for a moment before closing them again.

"Maybe you're right, but it doesn't matter." He said softly. "Because of who I am now, my magic is what people desire of me. You wouldn't be here if I weren't Ya Tashra." Riku swallowed, trying to find a way to refute that, but it was hard. Seshti had brought them here because of what he needed, nothing else.

"We don't want your magic." Riku finally said, pressing a kiss against the white braids. "I admit, we don't know you very well yet… but what we know, we like. And not because of your magic." There was a pause and Riku could almost feel Tash trying to decide if he could trust that or not.

"Thank you." Was all he said, and Riku hoped that meant the decision had gone in their favor. Tash finally pulled back, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm a wet tissue today… are you hungry?" Sora's stomach growled on command, and Tash smiled faintly. "I'll get breakfast." He slipped out of bed, pulling on a robe and using his magic to call in their food from the kitchens. His magical servant made very good meals, and today breakfast was congee with century eggs and fried breadsticks. Sora looked it over curiously, finding the color of the century eggs rather alarming. The white was brown and the yolk was green. But it was mixed into the congee, which helped. "Don't worry, it's good." Tash started eating his congee, and they followed suit… even when the food at the tower was weird, it was better than what they'd eaten with Ansem.

Riku was beginning to think he really didn't want to leave this place. In almost every way he could think of, it was a wonderful place to be… but…

There was still revenge.

* * *

"I'm starting to worry about Xenmas." Axel blinked and almost dropped his chakram. Had Roxas really said that?

"Are you kidding? What would you worry about him for?" The thought of someone worrying about the Superior was laughable. He was the coldest of the Nobodies, about as approachable as a glacier. Roxas gave him a look.

"I'm worried that he might be giving up, Axel." Axel frowned at Roxas, but the blond Nobody met his eyes squarly. "Too many people are giving up. What will happen to us if the Superior does too?"

"What do you mean, people are giving up? No one's dead yet." When greater Nobodies really gave up… surrendered to despair… they usually turned into Dusks as they shed the last shell of memory. Axel had seen it happen only once, but that Nobody had been marginal to start with.

"Stop acting stupid, Axel. I know you have a working brain… you know what I mean." Roxas said tartly, and Axel had to nod. He did know what Roxas meant. Except for Xigbar and Larxene… and himself and Roxas… the other Nobodies weren't really trying anymore. Well, Vexen and Zexion were working feverishly on their project so they didn't count. But Xaldin and Luxord… weren't quite all there anymore. They did the right things, they scavenged for food and took watches, but they just… didn't care anymore. Axel suddenly grinned. It was like their… hearts weren't into it.

"Okay, yeah, I know what you mean. But I still don't see why you're worried." Roxas frowned and Axel shrugged. "Lets say for a moment that Xenmas turns into a dusk. What does that mean for the rest of us?"

"Uh…" Roxas foundered a bit. "Well, Xaldin and Luxord would probably do the same."

"And so? They're hardly useful now. Xigbar and Larxene wouldn't give a shit if Xenmas died tomorrow. I admit, the two mad scientists might be a problem… we need them to finish the project… but I don't see Xenmas giving up until the project fails or succeeds. And if it fails it's not like any of the rest of this matters. So stop worrying about Mansex, he's an asshat anyway." Roxas smiled.

"How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?" Axel grinned and twirled his chakram, fighting invisible foes as he practiced.

"It's a gift."


	6. When Hope is Lost

Axel stood on the large, flat stone and surveyed the land around them. His red hair was ruffled by a cold, vicious wind, but he ignored the discomfort as he took in the view.

It wasn't a good view. The Nobodies had been forced to abandon the Beast's castle and had ended up in what was left of the Pridelands. There were no hyenas or lions that they could find… although if they had found them, they would have eaten them. The ground was cracked and crazed, as if the land was suffering from the worst drought imaginable. It was a thousand times worse than the damage Scar had managed to inflict. The only living things Axel could see were bugs and the occasion tree that was clinging stubbornly to life. Axel wondered how long that would last. There was still light… sort of… and water deep under the ground, so maybe the trees would hang on for a while if their roots went down far enough.

"Axel, here." Axel looked down as Roxas walked over, holding two bowls. He accepted his gingerly… he hadn't eaten in two days and his body was beginning to make strident demands, but he still wasn't looking forward to this. No one else had eaten either, since they hadn't found much in the way of food. "Blattaria stew." Axel looked at the black chunks in some kind of orange soup base, and swallowed.

"Do I want to know what Blattaria is?" He asked as he tried it. It was… crunchy. Not horrifically bad but definitely not good. Roxas shook his head.

"You definitely don't." Roxas sat down on the rock, and Axel sat down beside him. He grimaced as he caught something in his teeth, and pulled it out to examine it.

A leg?

"Roxas, Blattaria wouldn't be Vexen's fancy name for cockroach, would it?" He asked, nauseated, and Roxas paused his own eating for a moment.

"That's the kind of question you really don't want an answer to, Axel." Axel sighed and kept eating. Every time he thought his pride couldn't get any flatter, the universe found a new way to squish it.

"Organization XIII… here we are, sitting on rocks and eating cockroaches. How the mighty have fallen." Axel muttered, and Roxas shrugged.

"I'd agree, except that we weren't that mighty in the first place or we wouldn't be here." Roxas pointed out.

"Stomp my pride a little flatter, Roxas." Axel said jokingly. "So how's the progress on water coming?" That was something they desperately needed. Vexen had been trying to find water close enough to the surface for them to use. Demyx would have been better at it, but Vexen had something of an affiliation with water as well.

"Not bad. We've got drinking water, although not a lot of it. That's how we made the stew." Axel nodded, then frowned.

"Wait. You mean there's not enough water for bathing? Or sponging?" That was a bad thought. Roxas nodded. "Shit! Xigbar gets really rank when he can't have a bath."

"You're no rose either, fucker." The two of them looked up as the Freeshooter strode over, holding his own bowl of stew.

"I just meant you get upset without a bath." Axel said innocently, and Xigbar snorted.

"Sure, that's what you meant." Xigbar sat down beside Axel, who shifted a little to make room. "Thanks. Not a bad spot here, although the view could use some work." Xigbar pointed a spoon at the tattered landscape, and Axel nodded.

"Yeah, I'll tell the groundskeepers to get off their butts and back to work." Xigbar snorted a mouthful of stew, coughed then swallowed. "Any particular reason you're here besides a desire for our company?"

"Yeah. I hit the motherload today." They both glanced over at the Freeshooter, who grinned. "Found a fragment of a house floating in the darkness. Still had a cellar attached, and I found all kinds of useful shit. We've got a bunch of canned food and a whole friggin' lot of wine now. Dude must have been using it as a wine cellar."

"That's great!" Axel blinked at his stew. "Hey… then why are we eating cockroaches?" Xigbar shrugged.

"I just got back with it a half hour ago. Vexen's been cooking this shit all day… waste not, want not. And those cans will keep where this won't." Axel nodded, but wished he was eating something out of a can instead. Even spam would be preferable. "I got Larx and Xaldin to help me clean the place out, too, so we got a load of skin rags in the bargain. Want to see some tits?" Xigbar grinned and opened his cloak like a flasher, showing a couple magazine's in the lining. Roxas gaped at him as Axel stared, then laughed.

"Pass! I want some of that wine, though. Thanks Xigbar."

"S'nothing." They ate in silence for a while, and soon had their food finished off. It was nothing to linger over. Xigbar stood, and the other two Nobodies followed suit. "Let's get some of that wine before Xaldin drinks it all."

"Sounds good." When they got into the cave the Organization was hiding out in, it became clear that running out of wine was going to take a while. "Woah, you weren't kidding about it being a wine cellar." There were literally boxes of bottles. Xigbar nodded.

"Yeah, and best of all, Lux says this stuff ranges from good to really great. Whoever owned that house had expensive tastes." Xigbar pulled out a bottle, blowing the dust off. Larxene laughed and held up her glass.

"Lux says this bottle would have been worth three hundred dollars, back when munny mattered! C'mon, have some, it's great." The Savage Nymph was already looking a bit soppy around the edges, but then, there was no reason to hold back. Axel and Roxas quickly got glasses as Xigbar opted to drink directly out of the bottle. "Hey, you savage, you're supposed to let the wine breath."

"Oh fuck that." Xigbar sneered and took another long pull from his bottle as Axel and Roxas clicked their glasses together. Luxord smiled blissfully, looking even drunker than Larxene. Soon, they were joined by Vexen and Zexion. Xaldin was the last to come in, and grabbed a bottle as soon as he did, sitting on a crate.

"To Demyx!" Larxene raised her glass in a toast. "And his phallic instrument. We will miss him so." Everyone drank to the toast… they were going to drink anyway, so why not?

"To Marluxia and the roses of death!" Axel offered his own toast, grinning. "He was a fucker but he put up a good fight." Marluxia had died well, in defense of the World that Never Was. And that started a flood of reminiscing.

"To Lexaeus." Zexion offered, lifting his glass. "I wish he was with us now." They all drank to that, and Axel poured himself another glass of wine before passing the bottle to Roxas. He was starting to feel a touch blurry around the edges, and it was a good feeling.

"To Saix, the wild beast of the night… hope he's running in the celestial fields or some shit." Luxord made his drunken toast, and they drank to that too. Then Larxene giggled.

"To Cloud and Leon and all those fuckers… I never met any of them but I heard they put up a good fight too. Took lots of Heartless to Hell with them." Roxas blinked, his eyes suddenly feeling damp, and offered his own toast.

"To everyone who put up a good fight, whoever they were and however they died… rest in peace." They all drank, and Larxene quietly fell off her box. Everyone laughed and settled in to quietly drink themselves into a stupor.

What else was there to do?

* * *

"I noticed you've both been practicing." A familiar voice said as Riku and Sora both relaxed in the hot springs. They had been practicing most of the morning, working with Soul Eater and Broken Dream, and were relaxing their muscles. Riku lifted his head with a blink and met bright blue eyes.

"Armand, right?" He hazarded, remembering the blond man from the encounter with Seshti. Examining him more closely, he thought Armand was perhaps thirty… but perhaps not. There was something about him that made Riku wonder if he was older. Wizards often could extend life, although few were truly immortal.

"Right. I saw you guys and I was wondering, would you like another sparring partner?" He pushed back his hair with a grin. "The vampire notwithstanding, I'm rather good." Sora tilted his head to one side and smiled shyly as Riku considered it.

"That might be good, actually." They were very familiar with each others style… maybe too familiar. It would be good to have someone else to go against. And… "You're an apprentice?" He wasn't sure about Armand. He was muscled like a warrior and moved like one… and fought like one, from what little Riku had seen. Armand grinned.

"Yep, and one of the best. I got sent here because I was a bit too big for my britches and all my teachers were sick of me. Needed a teacher who could keep up with me… heh. Around here, I'm nothing special." Armand shrugged. "If you're wondering how I can fight like that, my dad was a mercenary. Mom died when I was just five, and I went everywhere with dad after that. I was the drummer boy for the unit and started learning the rifle and sword as soon as I could lift 'em. I started picking up magic from the company witches, and before you know it a wizard noticed me… and the rest is history."

"Oh, I see." And Riku did. Almost all the apprentices here weren't Ya Tashra's originally. They either had strange gifts, so strange that most wizards couldn't deal with them, or they were extremely talented. So talented that they needed special attentions from an extremely powerful wizard. Now that Tash was taking care of his apprentices directly again, things were going much better for everyone.

"We'd really appreciate your help." Sora said brightly. "We're planning to go back to our world eventually to destroy Ansem." He was getting a bit more optimistic about their chances. Armand tilted his head to one side.

"This Ansem… he's a powerful Heartless, right? Can use the darkness and magic, right?" Sora blinked and nodded. "Y'know, you might want to think about learning magic the proper way, not through a keyblade."

"Huh? What's the difference?" Sora had never heard about any differences. Armand blinked, a touch surprised.

"I would have thought you would have noticed. Keyblades are like a magical crutch." The two boys both gave him a startled look, and Armand shrugged. "I'm not saying they're bad or anything. But you focus the magic through them, and it makes the spells faster and easier than they ought to be. The blade does a lot of the work for you, which is great during combat but not necessarily good the rest of the time. A real wizard can do stuff with a keyblade you'd have to see to believe."

"Oh? Like what?" Riku felt dubious… he wasn't sure he believed Armand. Armand grinned.

"You should ask Tash to show you. He's got a keyblade, you know." Sora's mouth dropped open as Riku blinked. "He just never uses it unless it's very suited to something or the situation is desperate, since like I said, it's a crutch. A real wizard shouldn't need it." Armand paused thoughtfully. "Although he does get it out whenever he puts additions onto the Twisted World. I wonder if it had something to do with how he built the place in the first place."

"I'll ask him about it." Riku thought that was very interesting… although he doubted Tash would have enough time to practice with them. He was busy now, taking care of all kinds of things, although he still made time to take them around to the Twisted World. In fact, tomorrow they had an excursion planned to a dance festival in a far off world. Seshti was really looking forward to it. Sora gestured, calling over the plate of fruit and taking a slice of strawberry. Now that they knew how the magic and technology here worked, it was all quite easy to manipulate. Riku took a bit of mango and chewed slowly as he enjoyed the hot water.

He could ask Tash about the keyblade tomorrow.

* * *

They were all waiting patiently in line. Seshti squealed in excitement, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she saw the large floating platforms landing. They had rented one for the festival… they were expensive but definitely the best way to have fun during the dance festival. Sora and Kairi both looked around wide eyed at the city around them. Riku felt nearly as amazed as them, although he didn't show it as much.

This was a hyper advanced civilization. Tubes of pink light carried people between buildings, twisted and flexing easily to meet any demand. The city itself was built in dozens of layers and seemed to go on forever. Great floating islands hovered over the city, full of plants and animals and completely defying gravity. Most amazingly, Tash claimed that nothing here was magic. This was a land of pure technology, which to them was the most amazing thing of all. How could buildings of glass and gold exist without magic? Floating islands and flying lights? It all seemed incredible.

The platform they were getting, though, was most certainly pure technology. They all jumped aboard as soon as their time came, and the platform began flying slowly over the city. They would have no control over it… the flight it was following was pre-planned, which was likely a good thing given how many of the platforms were in the sky tonight. There were crowds beneath them. Everyone was waiting for the dance to begin, and it would be soon.

"Hey Tash? I was wondering… I heard you have a keyblade?" Riku asked as they waited for the dance signal to begin. Ya Tashra blinked and nodded.

"Yes. You want to see it?" Riku nodded, and stared as a blade of silver and purple appeared in Tash's hand. The keyblade had golden stars on it, much like the Star Seeker keyblade. The head of the blade was odd… it looked like a stylized scroll. "It's called the Knowledge Seeker. How I got it is a very long story, but the short part is that I couldn't have survived without it." Pain crossed Tash's face for a moment, then he shrugged. "I probably couldn't survive that even now. Elder gods are not fun to cross."

"But they sure do splatter nicely." Seshti put in with a grin. "And they taste fascinating! Like… mm… old jock straps."

"And we're all wondering how you know what old jock strap tastes like, Seshti." Tash said dryly as Sora made a small 'ewww' noise. The vampire grinned, entirely unrepentant. "But please, don't tell us. Ah, it's starting." The music was starting, and with the magic of high technology they could hear it clearly, the first clash of percussion and the flashing lights beginning the pump in the darkness. Fireworks starts to fly, and Seshti laughed, throwing back her head.

"Oh yeeeeah!" She started to dance sexily, and Kairi laughed, dancing beside her. Tash grinned and danced as the crowds below them whooped. Sora grinned widely as the bright, throbbing sound pulsed over them. It wasn't the kind of music he was used to, but it was good, and he and Riku danced too, not caring what they looked like.

It was time to have fun.

* * *

"Are you ready, Roxas?" Vexen said, cold and businesslike. Roxas swallowed and nodded.

"I'm ready, Vexen." That was a lie, but what else could he say? This had to be done and he was the only one who could do it. They were trying to forge a connection and drag Sora back to him through the darkness. They had no idea if it would work or not… but the worst outcome would be for it to partially work. Roxas and Sora could both be lost in the darkness if that happened.

"Good." Vexen hit the buttons on his scavenged equipment, and Roxas hissed in pain as the process began. Axel was hovering nervously behind him but couldn't interfere. Roxas gasped as he felt a click in his mind, a feeling of connection that was wrong yet… oh so right. But to his horror, the sense of distance was so vast…

"Vexen, stop!" He screamed abruptly as the second part of the process began. "It's too far!" Vexen hit the emergency shutoff, and Roxas slid to his knees in relief, covering his face with his hands. That had been too close.

"What do you mean, too far? Where is he?" Vexen said urgently. The connection between Roxas and Sora might fade at any time. Roxas blinked and concentrated.

"He's… he's somewhere so far it's insane. I don't understand. It's another universe?" Vexen and Zexion exchanged glances. They had never heard of such a thing. "He's happy and he's dancing. But…" Roxas paused as he tried to pull more information out of Sora. "He's going to come back. It might take months but he wants revenge." Then he took a deep breath. "Anyway, we can't pull him back like that. I would have been lost in the darkness and I don't think he would have even noticed." The pull on Sora simply wouldn't have reached him. Vexen winced as Zexion slumped into a chair.

"Months… I don't know if we can hold out that long." Vexen muttered, and Zexion looked away.

"I can't." He said softly as the other Nobodies turned to stare at him. "I'm sorry Vexen. You'll have to finish this without me." Without another word, Zexion left the room, and no one stopped him or tried to change his mind. They all felt the same despair welling up. Could they just wait?

"We can wait Roxas. As long as I've got you, I can do anything." Axel said softly in his ear, and Roxas smiled faintly.

"What would you do if something happened to me?" He said jokingly… but not really. Axel slid his arms around the blond and laughed softly, sadly.

"I'd be gone the next day. I'm only here for you, Roxas." Roxas blinked, feeling a pain where his heart should be, and tangled a hand in Axel's cloak.

"And I'm only here for you." But together, they could be strong. They would wait for Sora. Hopefully, he would come back in time.


	7. The Beached Whale

_**WHAM!**_ Sora tumbled forward, stunned, as Riku struggled to get up… and the indicators for both flashed red as the simulated wall collapsed on them. The simulation vanished instantly, and they were back in a padded room, wearing the especially enchanted combat gear that kept them from actually taking injuries.

"That was dirty." Riku said weakly as Armand started doing a victory dance that involved obscene gestures. Armand paused with a grin.

"Oh, so war is supposed to be fair now? Would Ansem agree? I think not!" Sora flinched and Riku winced. "You both know I'm a good shot. Didn't it occur to you that my missing five times in a row was a wee bit suspicious?"

"I thought we were getting better at dodging." Riku muttered, then sighed. "Clearly not." Armand was turning out to be a total pip to practice against. It was good for them… they had gotten a lot better… but the experience was still painful. "How are you so damn good? Are you really thirty?" He had to ask. Armand looked a little surprised.

"Thirty-two, actually. And when you've been through a dozen campaigns, including a couple where we got reamed, you get good or you get dead." Armand shrugged, then grinned. "I admit, I'm better than most. But remember! Stay alert to your surroundings." Riku nodded. They should have noticed that Armand was shooting out the wall behind them and herding them into position. It was the kind of thing he was teaching them to look out for. "Ready to try it again?"

"You're on." A new scenario was loaded into the computers… this simulation was a mixture of magic and technology that made for an astonishingly realistic experience. This time, things went differently, and they finally managed to corner and 'kill' Armand. The mercenary laughed as the simulation shut down.

"Much better! Best out of four?"

"You're on!" They kept practicing until a gentle chime went off and the machines abruptly shut down. "Ah… right." They had set that up ahead of time. It was easy to lose track of how long you had been practicing, but Armand had classes and they all needed to grab a bite to eat for lunch. Tash had agreed to give them some private lessons in magic, and this would be their first one.

Riku wasn't sure if he felt relieved or alarmed by that. After speaking to Tash's apprentices, he knew that the wizard typically only taught the high level apprentices directly, letting them teach the others. Actually, many of those apprentices were wizards in their own right, but they wanted to hone their knowledge under Ya Tashra. But Tash was making time to spend with them and teach them, despite the fact that they were really rank amateurs. Of course, if they hadn't been here, Tash wouldn't have been able to do anything productive thanks to the heat cycle. Maybe this was his way of showing gratitude.

But it didn't really matter why he was doing it. After they grabbed a quick sandwich, they headed to Tash's laboratory on the ninth floor. On the way, they spotted Seshti pestering a young man with silvery purple hair.

"Hi Ienzo!" She said happily to the apprentice, who was working with what looked like plant spores. "What are you doing?" He frowned, pausing his work to look up at the vampire.

"Preserving some Kaluni spores." Seshti made an ooo sound of appreciation, bending down to look at the plants… then turned her head to grin up at Ienzo as he frowned.

"You're not worried about them getting lose and bedding down in your lungs and suffocating you with your own blood?" She asked innocently, and Ienzo gave her a blank look.

"I wasn't. But thank you for that image. Please, go away Seshti." Seshti grinned again, licking her fangs before she bounced away. Ienzo shook his head and kept working with his plants. Fortunately, Seshti didn't spot them and Riku and Sora made it to Tash's workroom unmolested. Possibly literally… Riku smiled faintly as he remembered what he had seen in Seshti's room. Kairi was spending a great deal of time with the vampire these days. Tash looked up with a smile as they entered his workroom. It was very neat, but with plenty of supplies… and, for them, notebooks and pencils and apprentice grimoires.

"Sora, Riku! I've been working out a study plan for you." Tash seemed quite enthusiastic about it, as they sat down and looked at the books he had picked out for them. Magic for Dummies? Clearly they were starting with the basics. "Now… it's been a while since I taught at this level, so if I'm going too fast just tell me." Tash pushed back a few of his micro-braids, smiling. What followed felt more like a lesson in math than magic. By the end of it they were both feeling tired and strained… and Sora was feeling a touch mutinous.

"I thought we were learning magic?" He couldn't help but sound a little plaintive. Tash shrugged, putting down his chalk… he'd been writing equations for them on the blackboard.

"You are. A lot of traditions don't do it this way, but the mathematical approach has huge benefits in flexibility. Think about the complexity that went into making the Twisted World. If I didn't approach things mathematically, I wouldn't have been able to do that." Riku blinked at the thought. But it did make sense… the Twisted World was so very artificial. "Not only that, if you use mathematics in magic you can actually use computer models to figure out new spells. It's all very exciting. And the truth is, the two of you do use math in your magic… or rather, the keyblade does." Sora tilted his head to one side, and Tash smiled, a touch sadly. "That's why it's a crutch. It does all this work for you, so you don't have to think about it."

"And if we have a deeper grasp of the mathematics behind it, we can use the keyblade to do more things?" Riku asked, and Tash nodded. Although that would only be for Sora. He still had Soul Eater, and it didn't function quite like a keyblade.

"Yes. It's a very powerful tool in trained hands. But that's enough for today… we don't want to miss our supper reservations." Tash smiled again, and Sora grinned as he jumped to his feet. They were going to the Beached Whale, and despite the possible homesickness he and Riku were looking forward to it. It would be a good thing to have a taste of home. "Take your books and notes to your rooms, and meet me on the tenth floor, please."

"Right!" It didn't take them long to get their supplies hidden away, and Tash, Seshti and Kairi were all waiting for them on the 10'th floor beside one particular portal. It would take them to the fifth level of the Twisted World, which was a rather nice area. When they touched the portal, they instantly reached their destination… a windswept, but very active courtyard. Riku shivered, wishing for a coat… there was a cold, stiff breeze scouring the Twisted World today. He could have done with a windbreaker, and plenty of people were wearing sweathers. It was really crowded, though, and Seshti spoke up brightly as they threaded their way through the crowd.

"Maybe Ya Tashra should put a new addition onto the World soon. The buildings are getting rather high, don't you think?" Tash shot her an annoyed look, but said nothing, Riku privately thought she was right… he'd learned that the height of buildings was strictly controlled to help maintain the integrity of the Twisted World, but a lot of the residential buildings he could see were edging into the danger zone. And most of the stores had living quarters in the upper levels. Riku idly wondered what the housing prices were like. Very expensive was his best guess, although the upper and lower levels were much cheaper… and less desirable.

"This place was never meant to be a place for people to live permanently." Tash muttered to himself, then sighed. "I've attracted the misfits of the multiverse."

"You know you love it." Seshti said cheekily, and Kairi smothered a laugh. "But seriously, I think it's time."

"Perhaps." Tash sounded less than enthusiastic, but eyed the crowds around him critically. "I'll… mention it to Ya Tashra." He had no delusions about the fact that people were listening to them. Everyone tended to pay attention to Tash's apprentices, since they often carried a fragment of his power and could act with complete impunity.

The Beached Whale, when they reached it, generated some homesickness almost immediately. The front façade was a clever replica of the only real restaurant in the Destiny Islands. Riku struggled to recall the name of it, but couldn't. It hadn't been the Beached Whale, fortunately. The sign had a very comical representation of a whale, and Sora laughed as the tail seemed to wave at them. It was a subtle and amusing bit of magic. The inside was like the Destiny Islands, too… but the crowd was entirely different. They weren't nearly as diverse as the people who went to the World's End Tavern, but they were diverse enough that they never would have fit in on the Destiny Islands. They were quickly shown to a table and brought menus. Riku felt himself relax a bit… that wasn't like the informal dining style on the Destiny Islands. But that was probably because most of the people who came here couldn't recite the menu without even trying.

"Ohhh, I'm going to have the poke!" Sora said happily. It had been forever since he'd had good poke, and this one mentioned that it used fresh ahi tuna. That was definitely possible, with the portal to the Destiny Islands and other seacoast locations.

"Hmm… sounds a bit too much like sushi… I think I'll have the roasted chicken with paopu fruit." Tash mused, looking over his menu. "Or maybe the Reeta Pork. What is Reeta?"

"It's a kind of root, tastes a bit like potatoes and only grows on the Destiny Islands." Riku answered absently as he looked over his menu. It didn't take him long to find a dish that made him think of home. "I'll have the chicken adobo and the paopu fruit flan."

"Roasted salmon for me." Kairi announced with a smile as Seshti tapped thoughtfully on a fang, and finally decided to go with the poke. It was touted on the menu as the national dish, which was pretty much true. Poke was everywhere in the Destiny Islands. Tash finally decided on the pork. When the food came out, it was really a breath of home and Riku felt almost ill with homesickness for a moment as he tasted the familiar flavors. It was so… so right. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine that he was in his mother's kitchen… then a sassy vampire shattered the illusion.

"Hey, look! Look!" He opened his eyes to see that Seshti had stuck two straws to her fangs, giving herself tusks. "I am the walrus! RAWR!"

"You are a complete embarrassment to the family." Tash said good-humoredly. "And it's only a mercy our parents are dead and can't see us now. Mother is probably revolving in her grave at 100 rpm." Seshti pulled off her tusks and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Bleh! Like they knew everything. Besides, they'd be proud of you. Well, maybe not of the whole 'take your celestial duties and shove them up your ass sideways' thing. But other than that, they'd be proud!" Seshti grabbed the bowl of sautéed mushrooms that had come with the food and tried some. "Ohhh, so good."

"Celestial duties?" Sora asked, smelling a story. Tash had some really wonderful stories, when he could be talked into sharing them. So far, Sora had managed to work a few of them out of him… like the story of exactly how he had rescued Seshti from her vampire master. That had been full of daring deeds and some rather ugly consequences for him when they'd finally gotten away. Tash swallowed a bit of his pork before he answered.

"Oh, well… when I became a full immortal I was fifty. I decided to make a huge, dramatic and amazingly stupid gesture out of it and went and announced my change of status at the meeting of the circles." Tash sighed, remembering. "If I could do it over again, I would never have done it. But… I wanted to rub their faces in it. The thing is, when a wizard achieves immortality on our world, he's supposed to dedicate himself to his studies and to protecting the world and achieving cosmic balance. There's a whole set of celestial duties… I basically told the circles I would sooner die before doing what they wanted. I had to fend off assassination attempts for hundreds of years after that." Tash grimaced, then shrugged. "That's why there's no portal here to my homeworld, and there never will be."

"Would they still be after you, three thousand years later?" Riku said dubiously. Tash smiled sadly, then shrugged.

"I don't know. Probably. My world was very… traditional. I broke tradition and I've kept breaking it all my life. This whole place would be anathema to them. Too much mixing of social classes, too much anarchy." Tash took a long drink from his glass… he'd ordered a passion fruit milkshake… and shrugged again. "They're vindictive, too. I really shouldn't have done it, but I wanted to see the look on SoMa's face." Tash smiled nastily. "It was worth it."

"I can imagine." And Riku could. He'd give a lot to see Ansem in a similar condition. Seshti sniffed.

"Oh, easy for you to say. I'm the one who ended up being staked three times before we finally got out of there. Pesthole." Seshti licked off her fork and looked at her empty bowl longingly. "I want dessert. What's for dessert?" Tash laughed.

"Pig! Wait until we're done." Seshti immediately stole a piece of Sora's poke.

"Hey!" Sora blushed as everyone laughed. Seshti munched with a grin.

"Eat faster, you snails!" They applied themselves to their food, and pretty soon it was gone. Sora had a blissful expression on his face as he finished off the last of the mushrooms. Riku knew why… they were seasoned in just the right way. The dessert menus, when they were brought out, had more of the dishes of home.

"I'll have the Haupia pudding." Riku said immediately… it had been a long time since he'd had the stiff pudding. Tash ordered the same thing, while Sora and Kairi went for the chiffon guava cake and Seshti got the paopu fruit ice cream. The sweets made the perfect end to the meal, and Tash paid with a generous tip as they sipped sweet, alcoholic after dinner drinks.

"Could we come back here again?" Sora said wistfully. He had really liked coming here… it had made him a bit homesick, but not too badly since it was just food. And the food had tasted so good and felt so right. Tash smiled.

"Certainly. I liked it." It wasn't his favorite kind of food, but he was more than willing to come back for them. "And I owe you for how you're helping me." Riku frowned slightly at that and shook his head.

"I… almost feel like we're taking advantage of you." He admitted, and Tash blinked in surprise. "We're just doing what we would be doing for Ansem anyway, and you're doing so much for us."

"You're putting up with me." Tash countered. "And the vampire, which is a pain. We owe you." Seshti blew him a raspberry, which he ignored with a grin. Kairi giggled and patted Seshti on the back, which she leaned into. Riku shook his head with a smile… he didn't see it that way, but was glad Tash did.

Later that night, Riku watched as Sora straddled Tash's waist… and suddenly frowned. Sora was moaning in pleasure as he took the wizard into himself, but that was the exact same position Ansem had liked to see him in. It suddenly made Riku uneasy, but he squelched the feeling. It was just due to Tash's coloring anyway. Riku slipped up behind Sora, and captured the brunette's lips in a kiss as the two of them moved together. That was always different. Tash liked it when they touched each other as well as him, and Riku appreciated that about him. Then Riku let go of Sora to do the same to Tash, catching dark lips in a deep, passionate kiss as the wizard thrust up into Sora. He tasted good… warm, but not as hot as he had been when they first met, and sweet. Moved by a sudden impulse, Riku lowered his head and whispered in Tash's ear.

"I think I love you." He wasn't sure… he hadn't known Tash that long… but he really felt warmly towards the ancient yet oddly fragile wizard. Tash turned his head to look at him, still moving with Sora.

"Riku…" They kissed again, and Tash cried out in Riku's mouth as Sora brought him to the edge. Tash gripped Sora's erection with one hand, finishing him with a few quick strokes. Sora slowly pulled away, then lay down beside the two of them, cuddling up. That was something Ansem had never allowed, even if they had wanted to cuddle up to a Heartless.

A time later, all three of them were tangled together asleep.

* * *

"_Donald! Goofy!"_

"_They cannot help you."_

"_Where are they? What have you done to them? Let me go! Hey! O-ow!"_

"_Right over there, Keyblade master." A strange sight, at first he couldn't understand… feathers and blood and…_

"_NO! Donald! Goofy! Noooo!" Sobbing as hands touched him the way only a lover should and it hurt but it felt so GOOD and he wanted to die. "Please, kill me! Please!"_

"_Now, what would be the fun in that?" Lips grazing his throat a soft moan escaping unwilling lips. "You're mine now, slave."_

"_I'm not a s-slave!"_

"_We'll see about that."_

_

* * *

  
_

"Nooo… nooo…" Sora's thrashing woke up both Tash and Riku. Tash frowned, leaning over the keyblader… and Sora's eyes opened slightly as he felt the presence over him. "NO!" Striking out instinctively, he punched Tash in the face and knocked the surprised wizard off the bed. Riku cursed and quickly held him down. "Donald! Goofy! Get away from me!" Sora writhed under him, his eyes wide and unfocused. "Ansem…"

"Damn!" Riku had never seen Sora quite like this, but he wasn't really surprised. He'd woken in cold sweats more than a few times. Sora had seemed to be recovering better… but that clearly had been false. Recovering from his tumble, Tash started rooting through his bedstand and pulled out a small vial.

"Here, make him drink this." Tash gave the vial to Riku urgently. He didn't want to do it himself… he understood that his coloring was all too like the Heartless that had enslaved them. Riku forced the vial against Sora's lips, and while some of it ended up on the bed, a lot of it got into the brunette. Soon, Sora fell limp and seemed to go back to see. Riku looked at the empty vial respectfully. The potion he'd just fed Sora had been thin and black.

"What is this stuff?" Riku sniffed the bottle and smelled roses and alcohol. Tash took the bottle back, carefully stoppering it and setting it back on his bedstand.

"Dreamless sleep. He'll sleep another four hours, not dream at all and be completely refreshed. Of course, there are drawbacks. It's a cumulative poison… it can only be safely used a few times in a row before you have to stop for a week. But this once will be perfectly safe." Tash hesitated a moment, then asked. "Who were Donald and Goofy?" Riku winced at the question, holding Sora close.

"They… they were Sora's friends. Not really mine but… when we lost, they were captured with us, but Ansem didn't have much use for them." Riku swallowed hard as he remembered. "He had them killed and… skinned. He kept the skins displayed where we would have to walk past them everyday. Sora… Sora would stop and just stare at them. Sometimes he would touch the feathers." For Riku, it had been heartbreaking to see Sora that way, and he was sure Kairi had felt the same. But there had been nothing they could do except say a few comforting words. They couldn't even hug each other without the Heartless reporting the contact to Ansem. Tash winced.

"Such evil… poor child." Tash sighed, getting back into bed. "I'll make more dreamless sleep. It's harmless enough… the side effects when it's being overused are very clear. You get a horrible taste in your mouth and waking visions, so there's no danger of overdosing." No one could take dreamless sleep when the visions started. And Tash thought Sora might need more of it… and Riku and Kairi too.

"Thank you." Riku really was grateful for that. He could definitely use it himself.

Things had been hard for them, at Ansem's castle.


	8. Raspberries and Sex

"Roxas, what d'you think you're doing?" Larxene looked over the situation with irritation. "You're feeding him a can of spam! We should be eating him, not feeding him!"

The object of her ire was a small, malnourished hyena pup. Roxas had finally found a spring on the far side of the Pridelands… if you could call the muddy, brackish thing a spring… and the only intelligent creature in this world, aside from Nobodies. The pup had been close to death, but was perking up a bit and managing to eat the spam Roxas had put down for him.

"No. We're keeping him." Roxas said quietly, but definitely. "We have food to spare now." That was true… although only because they had lost several people. Axel's brow creased as he thought about that.

The revelation that they couldn't make Sora come back… they could only wait for his return… had been too much for many people. Zexion had been the first to go, but Xemnas had quickly followed. That had annoyed everyone. Not that Xemnas had given in to despair… but that he hadn't bothered to say a word to anyone before vanishing into the darkness. Sure, they were Nobodies and didn't actually care about each other, but there was such a thing as common courtesy. Xaldin and Luxord had done much better. Luxord had gotten completely drunk and made his tearful goodbyes before vanishing, and Xaldin had written Xigbar a letter before leaving and just not coming back. Xigbar wouldn't tell them what was in the letter, just that Xaldin was most definitely dead. Axel suspected he had launched a kamikaze attack on Ansem as his way out. If something happened to Roxas… that was what Axel would do. Fortunately, Larxene and Xigbar were still here and as bloody minded as ever. And they weren't happy about taking care of a hyena pup.

"We might have food to spare at this moment, but we're going to need it if your other takes much longer." Vexen pointed out coldly. The chilly academic had surprised them. Zexion's death had seemed to ignite a fire in the cold Nobody, and he was working on a new project. Roxas glowered at him but didn't try to fight him with logic. Keeping the pup really wasn't a smart thing to do.

"He's the only hyena left. He's the only damn thing on this world left. We're keeping him." Roxas lifted up the pup which protested softly, then let him hold him. "He's… fuck. This sounds stupid, but he's just a little yes in the night. A sign that maybe there's hope. So we're keeping him and that's that." There was a brief pause as the Nobodies thought about it. No one really bought the argument, but…

"Oh fine." Larxene groused. "But no more spam. Feed him those damn cockroaches Vexen's been breeding, I bet that's what he's been living on anyway." Roxas nodded. They had plenty of cockroaches now… unfortunately. It was making life unpleasant but at least there was always something to eat. The hyena pup licked his hand, sensing who had goodwill towards him. Axel stepped closer as the others dispersed to their own tasks, and reached down to gently stroke the pup's fur.

"What are you going to call him?" Axel asked. He was sure the hyena pup had a name… but with Kingdom Hearts tied to Ansem and the worlds falling apart, the Nobodies had stayed in human form despite being in the Pridelands. So they couldn't understand the hyena. Roxas considered the little pup for a moment. He was dark grey with black spots, but had blue eyes.

"…Demyx." Roxas finally said. Axel winced, but nodded with a small smile.

"He'd have liked it." Axel hugged Roxas for a moment, then kissed his cheek. "Let the kid finish his spam. He won't be getting anymore of that." Roxas nodded and gently set the pup down, who immediately started eating again. "So what's Vexen's new brainstorm anyway?" Axel had been busy scavenging, but the chilly academic had been keeping Roxas in the lab with him most of the time. Roxas frowned slightly.

"He's trying to forge more of a connection between me and Sora, so I can find out more about what he's doing and maybe get him messages." Roxas sighed, then. "And to… facilitate our merging when we meet again." Axel's grip on him tightened momentarily, but he only nodded. Roxas turned to look into his face and saw the anguish in his green eyes. It was more feeling than Nobodies were supposed to have. "Axel… no matter what, I'll still love you."

"I know." But that was a lie. Because when Roxas rejoined Sora… would he even remember Axel? Nobodies were so much… fainter than their hearts. Axel could only hold Roxas close, closing his eyes.

He would hope for the best, and be prepared for the worst.

* * *

Axel stood nearby, watching worriedly as Vexen began his new experiment. Roxas seemed to be almost in pain at first… but then the expression evened out, becoming almost pleasure. Then… definitely pleasure. Axel blinked as Roxas began to twitch in a way that was rather familiar.

"Okay. I think we know what Sora's doing." Axel said dryly as Vexen looked disgusted. "Doubt we'll be getting much information out of this, but at least we know the machine works."

"Quite." Vexen started undoing Roxas robes, and Axel scowled and tried to push him away. "What? Do you think he'd be pleased to soil his robes and underclothes when we have no water to wash them?" Axel blinked, then grimaced as he was reminded of his own stench.

"You've got a point, but let me do it." Axel unzipped Roxas' robe, then lowered his boxers and smiled a bit at what was revealed. Roxas had one hell of a boner. Sora had to be having a very good time…

"WHAT are you doing?" Vexen snapped as Axel kneeled down in front of the blond. Axel looked up with a grin.

"Don't want him to dirty your floors, do you?" Vexen stormed out of the room, grumbling something about a sausagefest. Axel decided to ignore him and started taking care of Roxas' problem.

It was the least he could do.

* * *

"R-Riku… oh darkness! Riku!" Sora moaned softly, his head falling back as Riku's warm lips fastened on his erection, his hot tongue running over him. The way Riku was sucking him and slowly stroking the insides of his thighs was just amazing. Riku suddenly deep throated him and swallowed, and Sora cried out as he saw stars. "RIKU!" The combination of sensations was too much, and he released, gasping at the perfect pleasure. Then Riku was crawling up the bed, and Sora lifted his head for a deep, passionate kiss.

"I've always wanted to do that to you, Sora." Riku murmured softly into his ear and Sora blushed. "Almost since we were kids." Sora blinked at that, as Riku nuzzled his cheek. He'd thought Riku had liked Kairi back then… but he decided not to question it, and kissed Riku again. It felt so good, to be able to touch his best friend this way without being afraid. If Ansem had caught them doing this, they would have wished for death before the punishment was over.

They were in Tash's room, but the wizard wasn't there. He'd left a note for them that something urgent had come up… damage done to the world itself that needed repairing immediately. The note had said to do whatever they liked, so this was what they had come up with. Sora's eyes dimmed as he thought about that.

"Sora, what's wrong?" Riku gently ran a hand through Sora's hair. Sora looked up at him, his big blue eyes suddenly wide and traumatized.

"We really are sluts now, aren't we? Just like Ansem said…" What else could you call it, when you fell into bed with your best friend for no other reason than he was there? Riku's arms tightened around Sora.

"Sora, no!" Riku kissed the brunette on the forehead for a moment. "We're best friends, we've been best friends all our lives. Showing our love this way is not dirty. Don't let Ansem's lies get to you." It was hard though. Riku swallowed as he remembered the things Ansem had said to him… the way they had been trained. It was hard, sometimes, to not feel tainted and worthless. Tash was a breath of fresh air and his vulnerability made them feel better about themselves… but it was still hard.

"We're not in love, though, are we? Not like this." Sora said softly, blue eyes meeting aquamarine, and Riku winced, looking down. Sora was right. Once upon a time, he'd had romantic feelings for his friend… but Ansem's cruelties had killed them quite thoroughly. Riku couldn't remember the last time he'd daydreamed of Sora on the beach of Destiny Islands, calling his name as they made love. Although he knew it had once been his favorite dream. His dreams of Kairi had died a similar death. Riku wasn't sure, anymore, that he knew what love was.

"I… don't think so, Sora. But we're best friends. That's enough. A slut is someone who sleeps with a guy they've only known for a half hour." Riku suddenly grinned. "Vampires being the only exception." Sora blinked, then giggled softly at the reminder. A younger apprentice had dared to call Seshti a slut recently, and gotten a lecture on vampires along with an ass kicking. It had been highly entertaining. It had also been rather informative. Who knew that different vampire lines imparted different powers and behaviors… and Seshti's was noted for a tremendous appetite and also massive sexual deviations? Although Riku supposed they could have guessed.

"Riku…" Sora kissed him again, and Riku kissed him back, their tongues twining together in an intimate dance. Sora reached down and slowly stroked him, and Riku groaned as his penis quickly swelled at the touch. Sora knew exactly what to do, and warm fingers wrapped around him expertly. Riku's breath came short as he tried to thrust into Sora's hand, making more friction. Then Sora suddenly stopped, pulling his hand away and sliding his legs open. "Please, take me." Riku nodded, coating his fingers in the lubricant… then wincing as the smell of raspberries filled the air.

"This is Seshti's?" He was sure it didn't belong to Tash. His stuff tended to smell like herbs, if anything. Sora nodded and Riku decided it didn't matter, although how it had gotten here was an interesting question. He spread Sora's legs and slipped in a finger, smiling as Sora gasped softly. They were both very accustomed to anal sex by now, but Sora's reactions never stopped being cute. Sora whimpered, closing his eyes as Riku found his special spot and gently stroked it. Soon, he was able to replace fingers with his hard length, and Sora moaned in pleasure as Riku began to thrust into him. The feeling of his hard, big erection pressing against that special place again and again was so wonderful, so all-encompassing. Sora's head fell back as he breathed heavily, eyes wide.

"R-Riku… oh!" Sora gasped as Riku bit his shoulder, speeding up the pace. "Ah… ah… Axel…" Sora's eyes glazed over as the room seemed to waver around him. He suddenly felt an echo of hard metal behind him and a smell that was… pretty bad actually. But warm hands and green eyes and blood red hair… a length that was just as hard and big as Riku hitting him in just that way…. "Axel! Riku!"

"Huh?" Riku muttered but didn't stop as Sora kept moaning both names. Sora finally climaxed with mind blowing intensity, but the name he screamed wasn't his. Riku followed a moment later in a rush of pleasure, but then looked at the gasping brunette, baffled.

"Sora… who is Axel?" Riku had never met anyone by that name. Sora blinked, dazed.

"I… don't know. He has red hair and green eyes…" Sora stopped, frowning, then shook his head. "It's gone now. For a moment… I felt like I was someone else." He sighed and cuddled into Riku's arms. Riku frowned thoughtfully, stroking Sora's hair.

"That's odd." He made a mental note to ask Tash about it. It could be important.

* * *

"Ungh… Axel?" Roxas blinked, rousing out of the dream Vexen had put him into. It had felt so good yet… so wrong, to be holding someone other than Axel. But he'd felt… "Did you just…"

"Yeah. Sorry about that Roxas, when you started opening your legs like that I just couldn't control myself." Axel's lips grazed his throat, and Roxas moaned… although after enjoying Sora's episode with Riku, he could smell himself and Axel again. That was an unpleasant side effect he hadn't been expecting. His sense of smell had gone dead weeks ago and he'd been glad to see it go.

"That's okay… but Sora felt you." Axel's lips paused, and he pulled back, looking into Roxas' face with concerned green eyes. "He started calling your name." Roxas pulled Axel close for a kiss, and slowly licked the line of his jaw… then wrinkled his nose. "Can you smell raspberries?"

"Um… no." Axel shook his head, pulling back and gently picking up the exhausted blond. "C'mon Roxas, you should sleep. You're starting to hallucinate." Roxas thought about protesting, then thought better of it. Axel was probably right. He needed to sleep after what Vexen had done.

But through the body odor, he could still smell raspberries.

* * *

"Tash? Are you okay?" Riku looked with concern at the wizard. He was flat on his back in the bed and looked completely exhausted. Riku had helped him relieve the heat, but Tash hadn't been able to reciprocate. He'd barely been able to react.

"I'm fine." Tash said softly, resting his head against Riku's shoulder. Riku was lying next to him and Sora was asleep on his other side. Tash had dragged himself into the bedroom well after they had both fallen asleep, but his climbing into bed had awakened Riku. "Some fool tried drilling a passageway through the base of the world. It's just not that stable. He hit one of my fountains and started causing a flake. I had to patch… I have apprentices trying to figure out who did it. If they find him, I'm banishing him." That meant Tash would make a portal to a very undesirable location, push the person through then seal it. Harsh, but understandable… if Ya Tashra hadn't caught the flake in time, a very large chunk of the Twisted World would have came off and drifted into the aether, where it would have been quickly shredded by the celestial winds. Hundreds, even thousands of people could have died.

"Why can't it be more stable?" Riku wondered aloud, gently stroking Tash's braids. Tash sighed.

"S'complicated. The world has to flex and bend… the material has to move but not move too much. It's delicate. Can't have people burrowing through it like earthworms, it's not really dirt. People seem to lose sight of that… You'd think they'd get the clue from all the magic we put into the waste disposal…" Riku nodded. The Twisted World didn't have a conventional sewer system since there was just no way to make that work. Instead, there was an intensely magical and technological system that required massive fusion generators and crystal arrays. From what he understood, the trash was gathered and… transmuted into raw materials that were dumped into worlds that needed the mass boost. What sort of raw materials, he wasn't entirely sure, but he'd heard that it varied.

"Tash… what would happen if you died?" That was something that he'd been wondering about for a while. Tash was almost immortal, but the key word was almost. He didn't age, mentally or physically, but he could be killed. It would be extremely difficult but it could happen. Tash opened his eyes for a moment, then closed them with a shrug.

"Right now? The World would decay. A few decades and it would be gone." Riku swallowed at that. He was getting very fond of the Twisted World… it was insane but a good place to live. The thought of it decaying was… difficult. "Enough time for everyone to get out. Maybe… if some other wizard grasped the power of entropy… he could take over for me. Needs that power." Tash sighed. "It's very rare though."

"Ah." Riku gently petted Tash's hair as the wizard dropped off, snoring softly. Then he smiled, closing his eyes and cuddling Tash close. He was pretty sure he didn't love Sora or Kairi romantically anymore… could he love Tash?

If only he could be sure what love meant.


	9. Jelly Beans and No Clue

"Roxas is going to kill you for this." Axel snarled at the Savage Nymph as he tested his bonds. He was being held in place with fur lined leather cuffs, augmented by ice from Vexen. Axel wondered what Larxene had done for him to get him to fix the cuffs that way. They were very comfortable, actually… but impossible for him to burn away.

"You think so?" She said gaily, sorting through a big box. "Oh, here it is!" She pulled out a collar and leash and a… what?

"What is that?" Axel said after a moment of staring at the mess of straps. Larxene shook it out and examined it.

"I'm not entirely sure… oh! I see. It's a muzzle harness. Hmm. This could be very interesting." She eyed him thoughtfully, then slowly smiled. "You know, this would look great on you."

"It would have looked better on Saix… Larxene, what are you playing at? Roxas is really going to murder you." Larxene giggled helplessly for a moment, then yanked his head back with one strong hand in his hair and fixed the collar onto him. It was reinforced with more ice, damn Vexen to the darkness. But still, everything was comfortable. That was a bit odd. It was more like Larxene to make him hurt. She smiled then, almost kindly, and twined her gloved fingers in his fiery hair.

"Just have to wait now." She commented, very amused, and something in her smile gave him a chill.

"Wait for what?" Axel demanded, a faint note of fear entering his voice. She wasn't acting the way she usually did. If she wanted him, she'd normally just take him, possibly painfully. And he and Roxas would get revenge on her later, but Larxene wouldn't mind. It was just a game, really. A Nobody sort of game. But this wasn't how the game went, and that worried him.

"You'll find out… hm. No. Might as well get started." She pulled down the zipper of his robe, revealing an expanse of skin. "If only we were clean this would be better. Oh well, can't have everything." She lowered her face to his chest, lapping at the skin and finding his nipples, slowly running her tongue over them in long, erotic strokes. Axel grunted, aroused despite himself.

"Who… gah… are we waiting for? Xigbar? Vexen?" There weren't a lot of choices. Larxene giggled again but refused to answer, and reached into her box, pulling out… what? "What in hell?"

"Candy syrup and a box of jelly beans." Larxene answered helpfully. "We found a whole erotic toy store still intact in what was left of Twilight Town. Isn't that amazing? You wouldn't believe what we got out." She pulled out a jelly bean, and Axel stared. It was shaped like a penis. "Dirty jelly beans. If only that company was still around, I'd so be buying stock. Hey, look, titty ones too." Larxene crunched the little penis jelly bean, making him wince. Then she fed him a titty one, and Axel considered spitting it out or biting her… but it was a jelly bean. When was the last time he'd had something sweet? He couldn't remember. Greed won out, and he crunched it thoughtfully. It was a bit stale but not bad at all. She returned to her licking and Axel's head fell back for a moment… then she jerked him forward with a quick pull of the leash.

"Larxene, you've started without me?" Axel's eyes went wide as he heard that familiar voice.

"Roxas?!?" Axel stared as the blond Nobody smiled at him… and suddenly relaxed. "Why in hell didn't you mention this was Roxas' idea, Larx?" It wasn't often they involved someone else in their love play, but it wasn't unheard of either, especially if one of them got a great idea. Larxene grinned at him, offering him another jelly bean. He nipped it daintily out of her fingers.

"It was fun watching you squirm. You should have figured it out from the cuffs, though." Axel nodded… in retrospect, that made sense. What would Larxene care if he was hurting from Vexen's ice? But Roxas did care, and he'd clearly put a lot of effort into making sure he wouldn't hurt. It was rather touching.

"So what's the idea…" Axel stared as Larxene emptied out her box onto the ground so they could sort through all the toys and items. "…What is that stuff?"

"Not entirely sure. But there are instructions… with illustrations." Larxene replied cheerfully as Roxas unfolded a piece of paper. Axel briefly examined the diagrams, which were in full color and quite explicit.

"Oh boy." This was going to be a long night.

* * *

In his sleep, Sora twitched and heard voices…

"_I'm pretty sure you don't have that on him right."_

"_Hmph. If you think so, you try it."_

"_Mrph! Holy shit Larxene that hurt!"_

"_See? Axel agrees with me… ah, you had this upside down."_

"_Rox-ass!"_

"_Stop being a pussy Axel, you know you love it."_

"_You guys are destroying me here. Can we get down to business before I die? Please?"_

"_You can't die of that. Where's that candy syrup? Ah, here we go…"_

"_Larxene! … Roxas!"_

"_Mmmm."_

"_Oh darkness! Fuck me already! Please!"_

"_Not just yet. Have a jelly bean, Axel."_

"_You're so cute when you beg."_

Sora sighed and rolled over, dreaming of desperate, lust filled green eyes…

* * *

"Hopefully this will get better results." Vexen groused as Roxas was strapped to his machine again. "If we have another wet dream, I swear I will castrate you." Roxas paid no attention. That was an idle threat if he'd ever heard one. Demyx growled, then yelped and avoided a kick from the irritated academic. "What is that creature doing in here?"

"He likes Roxas. It's not like he's going to hurt anything." Axel watched, amused, as the little hyena tried to hide behind him. The pup was proving to be rather smart. After the first time he'd gotten a shock from one of Vexen's wires, he'd learned not to chew on them. He'd also learned how to beg treats out of Larxene and Xigbar, which took some work, but the little thing was a master of cute.

"Well, keep it away from me." Vexen had no use at all for the hyena pup, but mostly ignored him. As far as Roxas was concerned, that was good enough. Vexen started the machines again, and Roxas closed his eyes as the world drifted away…

* * *

"EEEE!" Sora flailed wildly as he slid down the bunny hill, ending up on his butt as his skis kept going. "Ow! Tash, stop laughing at me!" The wizard turned a laugh into a cough, but no one was really fooled. He grinned, adjusting his dark green goggles as the wind caught his braids.

They were at a ski lodge in the mountains of a beautiful, low tech world. This particular ski lodge was enhanced with magic, though, and it was a day off for the apprentices, so they had decided to make this a day trip. Sora had never skied before and had thought it would be a great idea. Now he wasn't as sure… learning to ski was a lot harder than he had expected. Fortunately, Tash was more than willing to teach them both. Riku came down the hill and Tash turned his head to watch as the silver hair struggled to stop. Finally gravity took care of it, and he skidded to a halt.

"Let's try that again." Tash said with a grin, and pushed himself over to the rope pully, grabbing it and letting it drag him to the top of the slope. He could easily have been doing the advanced hills, but the truth was that he liked teaching. It was part of the reason he had so many apprentices, although they were somewhat independent too.

As the day progressed, Sora and Riku got better… and graduated from the bunny hill to the intermediate slopes. Soon they were laughing and enjoying the sensation of speed, although Sora almost went flying once when he went down a bit too steeply and hit a bump. Tash made elegant swoops down the ski hill, coming to a neat stop at the bottom. Riku shook his head with a smile.

"You're really good at this." He commented, and Tash shrugged.

"Practice makes perfect, and I like skiing." He rubbed his face for a moment. The chill wind was picking up, adding a rosy blush to his dark skin. "But maybe we should call it quits." It was a touch early for supper, but if he was feeling cold then Sora and Riku were no doubt feeling worse. Riku nodded.

"Sounds good to me. I want to see the lodge." They'd just grabbed hot dogs for lunch, but the lodge looked intriguing. It was a huge, lovely building made out of rough cut logs and rustic stone. The inside was very modern, with good heating and immense fireplaces. It was a bit like a sports bar, and Tash glanced over the menu as they were shown to a booth. The food was definitely sports bar fare too. All that was missing was-

"Hey look Tash, they have TV's here." Sora pointed to a corner near them, and Tash and Riku both turned to look, surprised. This world was far too low tech for TV's… but they could immediately see the broadcast was coming from the Twisted World. The Twisted World got feeds from a dozen different worlds, but those were strictly entertainment… it had exactly one news service of it's own, and the TV's here were showing a broadcast from them.

"What would the news do without human interest stories?" Riku said, a little snarkily, as the screen showed the SPCA of the Twisted World. Abandoned pets could be a huge problem, especially when they included things like dragon hatchlings and… what? "Did she just say that's a vampire hamster?"

"A vampster!" Sora grinned as Tash and Riku both groaned. "C'mon, it was a good one!"

"No, it really wasn't." Tash said reprovingly, and glanced at the menu again. "Hm. I'm not that hungry. Maybe we should just get the appetizer platter." Riku glanced it over quickly… it was chicken strips, potato skins and egg rolls. Egg rolls?

"Works for me." Riku glanced up at the TV, then dismissed it, but Sora watched avidly as the program unfolded. He wasn't sure why he was so interested, but for some reason, the news was fascinating tonight.

But then, it was news from the Twisted World. That was always kind of special.

* * *

"Now this is more like it!" Vexen was transcribing everything Roxas was saying, and Axel listened intently as the blond muttered the news, his eyes closed and expression focused.

"Council of Ten meeting to discuss the housing problems… Threatened strike from the Exterminator guild. Demands for new equipment including flamethrowers and possibly bazookas to deal with giant ant problem… Recall on Baby for Life dolls after fifth incident of mother murdering real baby… Concert tonight at Courtyard 1002, troll band Sedimentary is playing Music with Rocks In, be there or be a rectangular thing."

"What in fuck?" Axel just had to say. This was sounding bizarre. Vexen ignored him as he kept taking notes.

"Gnomevibrator 4.9 newest in gnome technology… only 39.95…"

"I think that's a commercial." Axel said helpfully as Vexen stopped his note taking with a disgusted expression. Axel grinned as Roxas muttered something about vaginal cream. Then he came back to something interesting.

"Ore index down 2 points in gold, 3 points up in silver. Breaking news, a terrorist ninja from world 3200 planted a bomb at the Miyoko Club in the club district. Ninja was caught by one of Ya Tashra's senior apprentices and is currently being forced to eat his own shuriken. More at eleven."

"This sounds like awesome news. I wish I was there." Larxene said as she walked into the room. Vexen paused in his note taking with an arrested expression.

"Wait, Ya Tashra? I know that name… excuse me!" He suddenly left the room, leaving Axel and Larxene staring after him, confused. Axel shrugged and picked up the pen, trying to take up where Vexen had left off. He wasn't as fast, though, and knew he was missing quite a bit. But then, did they really care about the fashion show on the third level? Axel grinned… maybe he would care if he could see the visuals. But only Roxas was getting that.

"Ah ha!" Vexen came back triumphantly, holding a huge book. Axel blinked at it. The Wizard's Almanac? "I thought I knew that name. There's an entire entry on him in this!"

"Oh yeah? Let me see!" Larxene snatched the book from him over Vexen's protests and opened it to the page Vexen had bookmarked, reading aloud. "Ya Tashra. Possibly the greatest sorcerer alive, he is the author of numerous research papers and the creator of the Twisted World, a controversial project. The Twisted World serves as a transit hub and centre for traffic between dimensions. More information on the Twisted World on page 485… yeah, that's too nerdy for me. Here ya go Vexen." Larxene gave back the book with a smirk as Vexen glowered.

"That's a pretty sketchy biography." Axel commented as Vexen flipped the book to page 485. "I don't… woah." Axel leaned closer to get a better look. The page Vexen had gone to had a full color illustration of a world that looked a bit like a corkscrew. "Now that is something else. Is that where Sora is?"

"Yes, I'm sure he is. That explains the insane news broadcast we've just been subjected to." Vexen touched the page thoughtfully. "It also explains why Ansem couldn't find any of them. Kingdom Hearts is tied to this universe. If he dared to leave, even if he could… Ansem would likely lose almost all of his power." Axel whistled softly… then grinned.

"So Vexen. Do you have any idea how we can go to this place? Either to just get the fuck out or tell Sora to get his sad little ass back here?" There was a brief pause, and Axel supplied his own answer. "You don't have a fucking clue, do you?" Vexen glared, but sighed and shut the book.

"No Axel. I don't have a fucking clue."


	10. Poor Axel

Sora concentrated hard, focusing on the Broken Dream. Light flared around it… green shot with black. And he cast the light forward to hit a practice dummy.

The dummy flared as the fire ate it like acid, burning and churning with a voracious hunger. In a moment, there was nothing but a greasy spot on the floor, and Sora swallowed as he looked at the keyblade.

Tash's lessons in magic were paying off. They were learning to channel much higher spells through the blade… things more complex and dangerous than simple Aero and Firaga spells. They weren't always better, of course… simple was sometimes best… but combining two elements could have interesting results. The spell Sora had just used was a perfect example of that. Balefire combined fire and darkness in equal measure and resulted in a fire that behaved like an acid. It was vicious stuff, and Sora didn't really like using it… but he was willing to do whatever it took to end Ansem.

"Tee hee Riku! Do that again!" Sora looked up with a blink as Seshti laughed and Kairi giggled. Riku was blushing and holding Soul Eater… and hundreds of little bubbles were floating around him. Seshti popped one, and squealed as something slick coated her palm. "Eeewww, what are these things?"

"Pure nastiness." Seshti blinked, slightly puzzled as she regarded the bubbles. They didn't look terribly nasty. They were floating down and hitting the floor, splattering more of the stuff on the ground. Then Kairi took a step… and went down with a scream, her feet sliding right out from under her. Fortunately she landed on her butt, but when she tried to stand again, she simply couldn't. The goo that was coating the floor was ridiculously slippery, like trying to stand on clear ice.

"Eww!" Seshti bypassed the problem by floating into the air. "Let me guess, you mucked with a cleaning spell." Riku sighed and nodded, taking care not to move. He was sure that if he took a single step, he'd be joining Kairi on the floor. "That could be useful, but only if you don't get yourself into it. Here sweety." Seshti floated over to Kairi, taking her hands and helping her up, then guiding her from above. "Oh neat, this could be fun! Wee!" Kairi yelped as Seshti tugged her around, almost surfing on the incredibly slick surface. Then Tash entered the room… and went down immediately, hitting the back of his head on the floor with a crack that made everyone wince.

"What in the world?" Tash pushed himself up a bit, using his elbows to brace himself, and looked around, confused. "Oh! Clever, but not well thought out." A quick gesture and Riku's spell was gone… and Seshti had to lift Kairi into the air to keep her from ending up on her face. "That could have some very useful applications, though, if you put a proper direction on it." Riku nodded.

"That's the part I'm having trouble with." He knew what he wanted that spell for… if someone was charging towards him, spurting those bubbles onto the ground in front of him would be devastating. But he just wasn't able to make it work yet. He kept getting the bubbles around himself, and that was just a hazard to everyone.

"I might be able to help point you in the right direction." Tash smiled. He could actually have fixed Riku's spell easily and taught him the correct version… but figuring it out himself would be valuable to Riku. "For now though, I was wondering if you all wanted to come to lunch? There's a barbecue on the sixth level."

"Barbecue? Really? Like open air?" Tash nodded and Seshti squealed. "With music?"

"And a beer garden." Things like this happened all the time in the Twisted World. The more unused courtyards were absolutely perfect for bands and parties. Tash had no idea who organized them or if they just erupted spontaneously, but they were almost always great fun. Or a hazard to everyone around them, but that was the Twisted World for you. This one sounded innocuous enough, though. "The band playing is the Twitterbugs. They're a bunch of faeries, so it should be good." Faeries always had good music, and this band was from a bizarre dimension where faeries had grasped technology and built a real civilization. As far as Tash knew, that dimension was unique… most faeries couldn't handle steel, and that put a limit on their development, but these ones were different. It had given their music a fascinating edge.

"Sounds great." Riku said with a smile, making Soul Eater vanish. "We could use a break." Kairi nodded… she had been practicing healing and supportive magics… but Sora frowned, staring away. "Sora?"

"Huh…? Oh, just thinking." Sora put away the Broken Dream, and followed them quietly. But… he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

But what?

* * *

"Hnngh." Axel grunted as he tested his chains again. He was completely naked and chained to the wall by a collar on his neck, and his hands were bound behind him by cuffs and chains.

He hadn't been stupid. He'd just been unlucky. The wrong place, the wrong time and too many Heartless had overwhelmed him. The exact same thing that had happened to Demyx, really. The sitarist hadn't been careless, but sometimes it didn't matter how good or bad you were. You were fucked either way. And now Axel was fucked. Probably literally, although he wasn't really Ansem's type. He seemed to like the pretty boys and girls, and Axel wasn't really that pretty. He was wishing he looked like Xaldin, though. His lanky frame and red hair might be close enough for Ansem.

_I can do this. I know how to do this._ Axel reminded himself, staying calm as he glanced around his prison. He was chained to the wall in a clean little room with a bed in the corner. The bed wasn't for his use, though… not for sleeping anyway. The chains wouldn't let him reach it. There was a bathroom that he could reach, thankfully, but no bathtub. Although he was clean now. The first thing the Heartless had done after dragging him to Ansem's castle had been to shove him into a cold bath and forcefully clean him off. He'd destroyed a few of them in the process, but they hadn't cared at all about the destruction of a few of their kind. And Axel had decided that discretion was the better part of valor when a few of the ice based Heartless threatened to freeze the water around him. Although he'd been tempted to make them kill him…

But if he delayed long enough, maybe Roxas and the others could rescue him. They would try, he was sure of it. Unlike Demyx, he was a vital part of their efforts. Roxas needed him and the others needed Roxas. He just had to hold out long enough. The thought comforted him, and Axel started to mentally prepare for the ordeal.

Ansem was going to rape him. Axel was sure of that, but he'd been raped before. Sort of. Nobodies had no real emotions, so sexual play was… not exactly rape, no matter how violent it got. Larxene had taken him violently before, and he'd taken her right back… with Roxas help, too. Axel could remember one particular week where all three of them had barely been able to walk. Xenmas had been a touch disgruntled with all of them. What Marluxia had done to him had been a bit more traumatic, but Marluxia had enjoyed a good head fuck. The bad feelings had lingered… although Marluxia's valiant defense of the World that Never Was had wiped them away. Utter bastard or not, the flower had gone down fighting to help the rest of them escape. And now Marluxia's memory could help him… Axel knew how to handle this, although it was going to cost him a bit of his pride. But pride could be rebuilt, when all was said and done. Dead was dead.

He needed to fake it. Needed to put up enough of a resistance for Ansem to think he was really fighting, then slowly yield to Ansem so the Heartless would think he was broken. All the while, keeping himself cold and calculating, indifferent to what was happening to his body and what he was doing to and for the Heartless. He'd done that for Marluxia, and Marluxia had laughed because he had known exactly what Axel was doing… and hadn't really cared. So he would beg and plead prettily for Ansem, and do whatever the Heartless wanted… after just enough resistance to make him think it was real. It shouldn't be hard. No Somebody could use that tactic unless they were a real bastard, and-

Axel suddenly frowned as he thought of something. Demyx. Ansem had taken Demyx alive and used him… he might have seen some of this before. If that was the case, it was going to make things harder for him. Although Demyx wasn't a master of deception like Marluxia, he'd still know how to put on a good show. Well, he'd just have to cope. He was better than Demyx. Not as good as Marluxia, but who was?

The door opened, and Axel wet suddenly dry lips. He really didn't want to be raped by Ansem. He'd rather be done by Larxene at her most violent a thousand times than have the Heartless touch him.

"So." Ansem stepped into the room, and Axel blinked. It was the first time he'd really gotten a good look at the Heartless, and the similarity to Xenmas was… unnerving. Axel tensed, and struck out as soon as the Heartless got in range with all the force of his fire-

"Ooof!" A hard fist hit him in the side, and Axel choked as he felt ribs break. Hard hands gripped his hair and his head was slammed against the wall, hard enough that he saw stars. His fire hadn't fazed Ansem at all. But he was tied to Kingdom Hearts now, and wasn't vulnerable to any normal methods of harm. Only a keyblade stood any kind of chance…

"Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames." Axel gasped softly, wondering where Ansem had heard his name… but he'd probably gotten plenty of information out of Demyx, along with descriptions. Before the sitarist had finally died. "Welcome to my home." The hands moved from his hair to cup his chin, forcing him to look at Ansem. Axel let a bit of his fear show as he glared at the Heartless. He could have hidden it all… but Ansem would like this better. A cold, unnerving smile crossed the Heartless lips. "Trying already, I see."

"Huh?" Axel didn't understand that and was pretty sure he didn't want to. The smile widened into a mirthless grin as yellow eyes met green.

"I've broken Nobodies before." Ansem said, musingly, as Axel swallowed. "The problem with you is that you have no real heart to break. I know precisely what you're trying to do. Soothe your captor with screams. Fight just enough to be convincing." One hand moved along his jaw, stroking him with a mockery of tenderness. "I'm going to enjoy breaking you. Almost as much as I enjoyed breaking that one with the pink hair… what was his name? Marlinda? Marlufa?"

"Marluxia." Axel swallowed bile. Marluxia had been taken alive? That was a surprise, if Ansem was telling the truth. They'd been sure he died in the World that Never Was. But if Ansem was telling the truth… he was screwed. Marluxia had been the best at manipulation. Axel was good but just not on that level of underhandedness. Although he'd never had to really try, either. He wondered sometimes if he could have reached that level if he'd ever had a real reason to do so.

It looked like he was about to get one. But he was still screwed. Ansem laughed as he caught the flash of genuine fear in his face before he could suppress it. Nobodies didn't have real feelings unless they were very, very focused on something. Ansem was concentrating his attention wonderfully.

"The thing about Nobodies is, you have no heart to break… so I'll have to settle for breaking your mind." Ansem's eyes narrowed in pleasure at the thought, and he smiled, a dark, dark smile. "A temporary pleasure… you'll probably become a Dusk like the other two… but satisfying." Ansem slid his hands behind his head, removing the chain from the collar with an odd twist. That made him blink and turn his head to look at the chain… he'd touched it when he'd been trying to find a way out of the room, and it hadn't seemed at all detachable to Axel. And it didn't look detachable now. Axel had no idea how he had removed it. A quick jerk on his hair, and Ansem was dragging him over to the bed. Axel's eyes narrowed, and his foot lashed out… and he grunted in pain as another blow hit him on his broken ribs.

"We'll start with something simple…" Axel bit back a cry of pain as he was shoved down on the bed on his back. He tried to knee Ansem in the groin, tried to fight, but then the Heartless sent a spike of dark power through him. It was like getting seared by Larxene's electricity, and left him breathless and weak. Then Ansem slowly trailed his hands over the red head's lanky body, and everywhere he touched felt like it had been dipped in acid. Axel gasped, trying to disassociate, trying to leave his body behind as Ansem shoved his legs apart and began to slick him up with a strange smelling salve. Axel vaguely wondered why he was bothering… but he actually thought he hated the feeling more when it wasn't just pain. So maybe Ansem knew what he was doing.

As the rape began, Axel concentrated on just one thought. If Ansem meant to break him, really break him, that would take a while. Long enough for Roxas and the others to think of some way to get him out of here.

He hoped.

* * *

"I've altered the machine. Hopefully it will work." Vexen looked exhausted. Roxas actually felt bad for him… although the feeling was a distant thing compared to the driving need he was feeling.

Nobodies don't have real feelings. What they do have is echoes of feelings… the memories of what feelings should be like. It's like going from living in bright Technicolor to pastels. Often, when they're doing something they know should elicit feelings, they feel a vague echo of those feelings. Which is why it's so easy for them to pretend to have feelings. They don't have feelings like a somebody… not at all… but they have something. And when they focus all their beings on a single moment, they can, very briefly, achieve a state that feels almost like a real emotion. Roxas was focusing. He would not lose Axel. That outcome was unacceptable in his world. And he was going to do everything in his power to get Sora back to help him.

The Nobodies knew that they couldn't defeat Ansem. They'd already tried and failed. And Sora had failed too… but he'd been missing Roxas. Maybe that was why he had failed in the first place. If only the two could be reunited, maybe they would finally have the power to defeat Ansem and free Kingdom Hearts. It wasn't much of a hope, but it was the only hope they had… and they needed it now. No one doubted that if Axel returned to the darkness, Roxas would give up hope. He had to be saved. Roxas strapped on the machine without hesitation and looked at Vexen.

"Do it." Vexen nodded, and turned on the altered machine. Before, it had been set to receive. Now it was set to project.

Hopefully Sora would get and understand the message.

* * *

Sora was on the observation deck, looking through the viewers, absolutely awed. He wasn't alone. Kairi, Riku, Seshti and Armand were there… and so were dozens of the younger apprentices, all vying for the viewers. The senior apprentices were all helping Tash.

Ya Tashra was putting a new addition on the World. A large part of the thirteenth layer had been cleared in preparation for the addition, and a new fourteenth layer was rapidly taking shape. It would be uninhabitable… but the thirteenth layer would suddenly be much safer, opening up an entirely new level for the inhabitants of the Twisted World. The process was awe inspiring. Great chunks of debris were being moved into place then fused with the Twisted World. Tash and his senior apprentices were floating in the air and Tash had his keyblade out, using it to direct the immense energies he was channeling from the very fabric of the multi-verse. Golden lights danced and there was a low groaning sound as the corkscrew slowly extended…

_SORA COME HOME NOW!_ Sora screamed in pain as the demand, in a voice that was like yet unlike his own, tore through his mind. He could feel the utter desperation behind it, the _need_…

"Seshti! I need to go home!" Sora grabbed the startled vampire as Riku and Kairi turned to stare, shocked. Armand blinked.

"Lad? Weren't you going to wait for-" Armand started to say, but Sora shook his head.

"We can't wait anymore! He's… Axel is in trouble!" Riku's eyes widened as he remember the name Sora had called during sex. That hadn't happened again, but it had definitely been memorable. "We have to go right now! Take me!" Seshti hesitated, licking her fangs, then reached out to touch Sora's head. She suddenly scowled.

"Something is connected to him… pah! They're going to keep tugging. Alright Sora, I'll take you to whoever is doing this so we can find out what they want." And if it wasn't something liked, Seshti would eat them. She was a vampire, after all. Sora looked relieved as Seshti concentrated and opened a portal to the source of the call.

"We're coming too!" Kairi said quickly, and Riku nodded. Armand didn't say anything… he just touched the portal first, to Seshti's irritation. But the vampire had to be last, since she had opened the portal. One by one, they all went through, and Seshti went last… oblivious to an apprentice trying to send a message to Tash.

They were sure he would want to know about this.


End file.
